An animal study by the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in the United States showed that drinking alcohol, even in moderation, can accelerate the process of brain atrophy associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

The study was published in the journal Neurobiology of Disease. Scientists have found that alcohol causes the loss of brain cells and an increase in the number of amyloid plaques, which are an accumulation of proteins and compounds that are toxic to neurons and that they need to maintain the cognitive process. Information taken from R7.

Alcoholic Drinks Can Cause Alzheimer’s – Photo: Pixabay

For the analysis, the researchers used mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease-related pathology with a ten-week chronic drinking approach. Thus, the animals had the opportunity to consume water or alcohol, reproducing the behavior of the choice of the person.

From there, they could see how moderate, voluntary drinking changed healthy brain function and behavior, and whether there were changes associated with the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

With respect to amyloid plaques, the team concluded that alcohol increases the number of smaller plaques, potentially setting the stage for further growth in plaque proliferation.

In addition, they also found that acute alcohol withdrawal increases levels of beta-amyloid, which is a key component of the amyloid plaques that form in Alzheimer’s disease.

Among other discoveries, researchers were able to observe that moderate alcohol consumption caused behavioral changes associated with anxiety and dementia, as well as an increase in blood sugar and markers of insulin resistance, which increases the risk of not only Alzheimer’s disease, but also other diseases such as like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.