What if there was a drug that could treat addiction, reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer, mitigate symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), lower your blood sugar, and more? Semaglutides like Ozempic might be the answer—and now, there’s a growing body of research which suggests the medication could also reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. This new report was authored by researchers in France who completed a cross-sectional study using data from 263 people who had either mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease between 2010 and 2015. Taken together, the data provide insufficient evidence to suggest abstainers should initiate alcohol consumption to protect against dementia or AD. • A recent study examined millions of individuals to determine if there was a link between Alzheimer’s disease and alcohol consumption.
The association between alcohol use and the progression of Alzheimer’s disease
- When using the 1-14 and 15+ groupings as well as adjusting for ApoE genotype the results were also similar (data not shown).
- The study findings need to be interpreted keeping in mind the observational nature of the data.
- However, the researchers said that they only had limited data on which to base their study.
- Relevant issues remained regarding the protection, the aggravating or detrimental effects of alcohol consumption or whether protective effects are simply influenced by the quantity and/or frequency of drinking.
- Therefore heavy drinking may be merely a marker of this steeper decline rather than causing it.
But the findings “add to the growing body of evidence suggesting that GLP-1 receptor agonists may have neuroprotective properties, which could benefit patients beyond glucose control,” Dr. Porter says. Unfortunately, outside of leading a healthy lifestyle, researchers don’t know a lot about how Alzheimer’s can be prevented. Those who were able underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans, and the participants also provided samples of their blood and their cerebrospinal fluid. Cerebrospinal fluid is found in the hollow spaces of the brain and spinal cord and between the layers of tissue that protect them. Actor Bruce Willis is living with it, and so is talk show host Wendy Williams — but the types of dementia they are diagnosed with are different. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – Dementia, a term encompassing a decline can alcohol cause dementia in cognitive function, is a complex and often misunderstood condition.
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The study quality will be evaluated with the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS).25 The NOS contains 8 items, categorized into 3 dimensions including selection, comparability, and outcome (cohort studies). A star rating system will be used to semi-quantitatively evaluate the quality of the study, which allows a total star of up to 9 and studies with more than 6 stars will be evaluated as high quality. Find out about alcohol-related dementia including symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and support.
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More rigorous studies using newer dementia, genetic, and neuroimaging biomarkers are needed to establish clearer guidelines for frontline clinicians in an era in which dementia prevention is a public and individual health priority. Since we excluded gender- and beverage-specific studies, no conclusions can be drawn concerning different effects for men or women or effects of specific ingredients of alcoholic beverages other than alcohol. An even greater amount of evidence concerning the link between dementia and alcohol consumption might be gathered by using further databases and including publications in languages other than English for a more thorough systematic review. CD and CK independently extracted data from each study and a random sample of them was cross-checked by AMP. Setting/country of the study, data collection period, follow-up year, sample size, population and baseline age information was recorded for each study. Definition and measurement of the healthy ageing outcome, of smoking and alcohol consumption, were also recorded, as well as the Odds Ratios (ORs) or any other related statistic and the 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
- There are some lifestyle behaviours with enough evidence to show that changing them will reduce your risk of dementia.
- Finally, as the addition of new analyses of existing and ongoing cohort studies will also be affected by the previously noted limitations, there is a need for future studies to address these limitations.
- However, the studies promoting the benefits of alcohol on AD exclusively focus on moderate alcohol consumption (12), the restriction of alcohol to only an elderly population (13), and broad classification of cognitive decline (15).
- Heavy drinkers declined an extra 2.444 points per year on their mMMSE compared to mild-moderate drinkers, but only 1.849 points more than abstainers.
- But these effects can be slowed — and sometimes reversed — if you stop drinking.
- Autistic people may also experience sensory differences, sometimes called sensory processing difficulties.
- Early detection and research are keys to managing and possibly stopping the progression of these diseases.
- Thus, there is a need for effective preventive/curative strategic approaches.
- Of the 350 results from the original search, a total of 28 systematic reviews, most of which were published after 2010 11, 20, 22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47, met all inclusion criteria.
- In a 2023 study, researchers found that autistic people with sensory processing difficulties may be more likely to consume alcohol.
- Excessive alcohol use for many years is linked to alcoholic dementia, and some people can develop alcoholic dementia more rapidly than others.
- A small number of studies seem to suggest that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol reduces dementia risk compared to not drinking at all.
Some of the genetic markers used for alcohol consumption are problematic as their associations with average volume of drinking and with heavy drinking occasions in overall light drinkers point in opposite directions (80; see also the discussion following 84). Furthermore, cohort studies in twins may contribute to identifying genetic variations 85. The purpose of this review is to give an overview about the dose- and pattern-related effects of alcohol on the risk of developing dementia, while trying to differentiate different neurodegenerative, vascular and other forms of dementia. The first part of the review will give an overview about alcohol effects on the central nervous system and summarize findings with different methodological approaches (biochemical methods, histopathological findings, animal models, neuroimaging). In the second part, we will present the results of a systematic literature search we conducted.
- Searches regarding animal models (i.e., rat, mouse) were narrowed by pathological terms or relevant mechanisms (e.g., amyloid, neurofibrillary tangles, presenilin).
- Predictors 1 had an additional question about total number of alcohol drinks per week, while the total alcohol per week was calculated for the Predictors 2 data by summing the intake of the different alcoholic beverages together.
- To address these limitations, future epidemiological studies on the role of heavy alcohol use and AUDs on dementia onset could be conducted in a hospital setting where individuals with such characteristics are over-represented.
- In a 2023 study, scientists clinically investigated sensory processing and alcohol use in autistic adults.
- Researchers do not yet appear to be entirely sure if autism severity has any links to alcohol consumption.
- Excessive alcohol may compromise executive functions in people with dementia and can lead to memory, learning, problem-solving, and judgment problems.