Heavy Drinking Causes Lasting Brain Damage Sooner than Expected

Newswise — Memory loss and learning problems occur in very heavy drinkers sooner than previously thought, a new Saint Louis University animal study finds. The findings are published in the June issue of "Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research."

"Our studies indicate that significantly shorter durations of chronic alcohol consumption than previously reported produce lasting effects on learning and memory," said Susan A. Farr, Ph.D., principal investigator and associate research professor in the division of geriatric medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

Scientists studied the behavior of mice that were fed a beverage that was 20 percent ethanol. After consuming alcohol for eight weeks and having an alcohol-free diet for the next three, mice showed evidence of brain damage, the research found.

Even after they had been taken off alcohol for 12 weeks, the memory problems and learning deficits persisted.

"The brain damage looks pretty permanent," said Farr, who also is a researcher at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in St. Louis.

Farr compares the amount of alcohol the mice ingested to a person drinking six to eight beers or a bottle of wine every day for six years. A person who drank that heavily could experience memory loss and learning problems up to nine years later and possibly even longer.

"We are talking about someone who overdoes it," Farr said.

Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School of Medicine has the distinction of awarding the first M.D. degree west of the Mississippi River. Saint Louis University School of Medicine is a pioneer in geriatric medicine, organ transplantation, chronic disease prevention, cardiovascular disease, neurosciences and vaccine research, among others. The School of Medicine trains physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health services on a local, national and international level. The division of geriatric medicine recently was listed among the top 10 programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report.