#AlcoholAbuse

A new study in Neurology links heavy alcohol use to brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline. For Thai readers, the findings come at a time when drinking is deeply woven into social and festival life, making the health implications particularly relevant.

Researchers analyzed 20 years of brain autopsy data from 1,781 people aged 50 or older. Family surveys reconstructed drinking habits three months before death and matched them to neuropathology. The study found that heavy drinkers—eight or more drinks per week—had a 41% higher risk of neurofibrillary tangles, clusters of tau protein linked to Alzheimer’s. Even former heavy drinkers who quit within the last three months showed a 31% higher risk than those who never drank.

A new study published in the journal Neurology has sent shockwaves through the global medical community by firmly linking heavy alcohol consumption to changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline (source: Washington Post). For Thai readers, where drinking culture is woven deeply into social and festival life, these findings carry sobering health messages that resonate well beyond laboratory data.

The research, conducted at the University of São Paulo Medical School in Brazil, delved into 20 years of brain autopsy data collected from 1,781 people aged 50 or older at the time of death. By using family surveys, experts reconstructed people’s drinking habits three months before their deaths and matched these to neuropathological findings. The key takeaway: Those consuming eight or more alcoholic drinks weekly—classified as heavy drinkers—had a 41% increased likelihood of developing neurofibrillary tangles, clumps of tau protein in brain cells definitively associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Even former heavy drinkers, who stopped within those last three months, had a 31% higher risk compared to those who never drank.