Problem Drinking Linked to Brain Damage

 Long-term alcohol abuse can result in significant damage to the brain, a new study shows.

Researchers report that the extent of injury to the brain can be determined by measuring cortical thickness. The more people drink, they noted, the worse the damage.
"We now know that alcohol has wide ranging effects across the entire cortex and in structures of the brain that contribute to a wide range of psychological abilities and intellectual functions," study corresponding author Catherine Brawn Fortier, a neuropsychologist and researcher at the VA Boston Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School, said in a Harvard news release.

"This is the first study to precisely measure the variation in the thickness of the cerebral cortex, which is the thin layer of neurons that one sees on the surface of the brain and supports all higher-level human cognition," she said.
Excessive consumption of alcohol has harmful effects on both types of tissue that support brain function, known as white and gray matter. Alcohol's most significant impact, however, is on the frontal and temporal lobes -- areas of the brain critical to learning, impulse control and other complicated human behaviors, the researchers pointed out in the news release.
"In other words, the very parts of the brain that may be most important for controlling problem drinking are damaged by alcohol, and the more alcohol consumed, the greater the damage," explained Fortier.

In conducting the study, the researchers compared the high-resolution structural magnetic resonance scans of 31 former drinkers and 34 non-drinkers and measured cortical thickness.

"Previous studies were only able to compare large brain regions," said Fortier, "whereas this method allowed us to look at areas as small as a tenth of a millimeter and compare them across the entire brain. This approach allowed us to identify very subtle but significant alcohol-related damage across the entire brain, revealing two primary findings."
First, the study found reduced cortical thickness among the recovered alcoholics. Secondly, alcohol's effects on the brain are determined by how much people drink. Essentially, they showed, the more a person drinks, the greater the damage to their brain.
"This study documents, for the first time, the dynamic nature of the neuropathology associated with chronic heavy alcohol use," Terence M. Keane, associate chief of staff for research & development at the VA Boston Healthcare System and assistant dean for research at Boston University School of Medicine, explained in the news release. "The results may explain why alcoholism may be so difficult to treat: alcohol damages the very neural systems that are critical to achieving and maintaining abstinence."
The study authors added that even when they stop drinking, former alcoholics can suffer impaired abilities and personality changes due to alcohol's effects on the brain.
"Severe reductions in frontal brain regions can result in a dramatic change to personality and behavior, taking the form of impulsivity, difficulty with self-monitoring, planning, reasoning, poor attention span, inability to alter behavior, a lack of awareness of inappropriate behavior, mood changes, even aggression," added Fortier. "Severe reductions in temporal brain regions most often result in impairments in memory and language function."
The findings should help doctors better advise and treat their alcoholic patients, the researchers concluded.

"I think what is most important for other medical professionals to know and pass on to their patients is that alcohol misuse is not without consequences," concluded Fortier. "Not only is the brain impacted, but the very brain structures that are the most impacted are the ones that you need to change problematic behavior. However, it is also important to note that although brain tissue is compromised by alcohol, it can recover to some degree with maintained abstinence. This could be a motivational factor in maintaining sobriety," she added.

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An Apple a Day Really May Keep the Doctor Away

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Fruits and vegetables whose edible sections are white may lower your risk of stroke more than other fruits and vegetables, Dutch researchers report.
Every 25 grams per day of white fruits and vegetables consumed led to a 9% decrease in the risk of stroke, and apples and pears were the most commonly consumed "white fruit," according to the study, published in the November issue of Stroke.
"Green, orange/yellow and red/purple fruits and vegetables weren't related to stroke. However, the risk of stroke incidence was 52% lower for people with a high intake of white fruits and vegetables, compared to people with a low intake," said study author Linda M. Oude Greip, a postdoctoral fellow at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
But, Oude Greip pointed out that the findings don't mean it's OK to stop eating other fruits and vegetables. First, she noted, the findings need to be replicated. And, even if future research confirms these findings, "because other fruit and vegetable color groups may protect against other chronic diseases, it remains of importance to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables," she stressed.
Oude Greip said past research has shown that higher fruit and vegetable consumption can lower the risk of stroke, but none of that research looked at specific fruits and vegetables to see if any contributed more to the reduced risk than the others.
For her study, Oude Greip used data collected by the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment of the Netherlands that included more than 20,000 people. Study participants were between the ages of 20 and 65 at the start of the study, and none showed any signs of cardiovascular disease.
All of the study volunteers completed a 178-item food frequency questionnaire. The study then included 10 years of follow-up information on the participants' health. During the follow-up period, 233 people had a stroke.
Fruits and vegetables were divided into four color groups, each based on the color of the "fleshy" portion of the fruits and vegetables: Green, orange/yellow, red/purple and white.
The only group that was associated with a statistically significant decrease in stroke risk was white fruits and vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables included in the white category were apples, pears, apple juice, apple sauce, bananas, cauliflower, chicory, cucumber and mushrooms. White fruits and vegetables were the most commonly consumed produce, with 36% of fruit and vegetable intake coming from the white group. Within the white group, apples and pears were the most commonly consumed, representing 55% of what was consumed.
For every 25-gram increase in the amount of white fruit consumed each day, the risk of stroke went down by 9%, according to the study. A typical apple is 120 grams, the researchers added.
Oude Greip said it's not clear exactly what components in white fruit might be protective for stroke, but she suspects that the dietary fiber and the flavonoids play a role. Apples and pears are high in a flavonoid called quercetin.
Jessica Shapiro, an associate wellness dietitian at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, said, "Apples and pears are very good fruits. They're available year-round and are almost consistently good.
"As with any study, there are limitations. One is that the food intake was self-reported. Food frequency questionnaires are inherently biased because it's hard to remember exactly what you've eaten in the past. But, the positive thing to take from this is that everything we've been saying is confirmed again. Fruits and vegetables are good for you," she said.
Shapiro also said it would be difficult to single out what it is about white fruits that might reduce the risk of stroke. "It's really the whole foods. There's fiber and phytochemicals and flavonoids, and these all work together synergistically. I don't think you can single out one nutrient."
She said that she wouldn't recommend limiting your diet to just white fruits and veggies. "Eat the rainbow of fruits and vegetables," she added. "Each fruit and each vegetable provides certain nutrients that combine and interplay with others."

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