Alcohol-induced brain damage continues during the first few weeks of abstinence

A new study by the Institute of Neuroscience of Alicante (Spain) and the Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim (Germany) refutes the view that alcohol-induced brain damage begins to normalize immediately after the cessation of consumption.

The brain damage resulting from alcohol consumption continues to progress until at least the sixth week of sobriety. "Until now, no one could believe that in the absence of alcohol, brain damage would progress," said Dr. Santiago Cbads, research coordinator, of the 39, Institute of Neuroscience.

The study used MRI to examine the brains of 91 patients aged 46 years on average; all with a disorder induced by alcohol. To compare the neurological images, the researchers set up a control group consisting of 36 healthy men aged 41 years on average.

The participants were hospitalized in a detoxification program, where research could closely monitor the consumption of any addictive substance. Abstinence is therefore guaranteed and can be followed closely. The period of abstinence is "critical because relapses lead to chronic alcohol consumption," noted Dr. Cbads.

Rats and addiction to alcohol

The research also includes a parallel study on rats with a preference for alcohol. This section of the study "tracks the shift from normal brain dependence to alcohol, a process that can not be seen in humans," notes the lead author of the research, Dr. Silvia de Santis. Institute of Neuroscience.

The results show that alcohol consumption causes a generalized change in the white matter, the set of fibers that connect different parts of the brain. The changes are stronger in the corpus callosum and fimbria. The corpus callosum is badociated with the communication between the two hemispheres of the brain. "Fimbria contains the nerve fibers that communicate with the hippocampus, a fundamental structure for memory formation, with the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex," says Dr. Cbads.

The harmful effects of alcohol on the brain are well known, but there are still no diagnostic markers to characterize alcohol inducing brain damage. Spanish and German researchers are working on it further. They now focus on distinguishing inflammatory and degenerative processes independently and more precisely. The goal is to understand the progression of the early abstinence phase in people with alcohol abuse problems. The beginning of abstinence is a key phase because of the high rate of relapse it represents.

The excessive consumption of alcohol is responsible for about 3.3 million deaths each year worldwide and is at the origin of at least 200 diseases. According to AA Netherlands, approximately 4,400 people die each year in the Netherlands because of alcohol abuse and there are at least 300,000 alcoholics.