She also completed a Postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan, where she worked to uncover genes that could promote retina regeneration. She earned her doctorate in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she studied the role of glial cells in the optic nerve, and their contribution to neurodegeneration in glaucoma. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of the Holy Cross. Dr. Mills has a strong passion for community outreach, and has served as program presenter with the Michigan Great Lakes Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association to promote dementia awareness.
- If a person with ARBD stops drinking alcohol and receives good support, they may be able to make a partial or even full recovery.
- Excessive alcohol use for many years is linked to alcoholic dementia, and some people can develop alcoholic dementia more rapidly than others.
- Talk to your loved one’s doctor to create a plan of action after a dementia diagnosis.
- When a person starts drinking more than around 25 units per week on a regular basis, it may start to affect their ability to think and function properly.
What Is Alcoholic Dementia?
Two types of alcohol-related brain damage may result in alcohol-induced dementia. Read on to learn more about the types of alcohol-related dementia, common symptoms, key risk factors, and how you can help a loved one experiencing alcohol dementia. Betsy Mills, PhD, is a member of the ADDF’s Aging and Alzheimer’s Prevention program. She critically evaluates the scientific evidence regarding prospective therapies to promote brain health and/or prevent Alzheimer’s disease, and contributes to CognitiveVitality.org.Dr. Mills came to the ADDF from the University of Michigan, where she served as the grant writing manager for a clinical laboratory specializing in neuroautoimmune diseases.
Memory Care options tailored to your needs
Prescription drugs heal us when we’re sick, ease our pain when we ache, and prevent or control long-term conditions. But if you took them for more than six months, that risk shot up to 84 per cent compared to those who’d never used them. However, researchers found that those who took proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) like omeprazole for over four and a half years had a 33 per cent higher chance of developing dementia later on compared to those who didn’t take the meds. The study excluded those with cancer, surgery history, or a family history of dementia. “It causes sedation, and long-term sedation can eventually lead to dementia.”
Alcoholic Dementia: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment
In a review by Smith, heavy use of alcohol was a contributory factor in approximately 24% cases of dementia (24). Due to conflicting results across studies, the impact of alcohol consumption on dementia risk has been difficult to determine. While heavy drinking has been consistently linked to increased dementia risk, the evidence regarding light to moderate alcohol use on brain health has been quite variable, with some studies showing a protective effect 1.
But in some cases, your care team may prescribe medication like rivastigmine or memantine, which are typically used for managing Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. Once the withdrawal process is over, you’ll likely be referred to a mental health professional for extra support. In a study published in the British Medical Journal in 2018, researchers examined GP records of over 40,000 people aged 65 and older with dementia and nearly 300,000 without.
Stages of Alcoholic Dementia Symptoms
An individual may also need assistive technology and other modifications to help them with everyday tasks. Once acute symptoms come under control, a doctor may further examine the person for signs of Korsakoff syndrome. A person should consult a doctor if they are experiencing any of these symptoms to receive a prompt diagnosis. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020–2025, drinking in moderation consists of no more than one or two drinks daily for females and males, respectively. Alcoholic dementia encompasses several different alcohol-induced neurological conditions that can affect thinking skills. Alcoholic dementia can occur at any age, and it is expected to worsen rapidly (within a few years) after the initial symptoms begin.
It is clear that excessive drinking increases a person’s risk of dementia compared with not drinking at all. These reviews were included in the World Alzheimer’s Report 2014 and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidance. Each combined multiple research studies to reach a consensus on alcohol consumption and the development of dementia. Long-term heavy drinking can also result in a lack of vitamin B1 (thiamine) and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome which affects short-term memory.
How does alcohol increase dementia risk?
The Korsakoff syndrome is a long-term outcome of WE and includes a syndrome of profound memory impairment, which is related to additional disruption to diencephalic and hippocampal circuitry. Because of similar pathological substrates, WE and KS are commonly referred to as the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS) (2). Patients with WKS demonstrate amphetamine addiction treatment similar but more severe lesions in form of deficits in regional brain volumes (mammillary bodies, thalamus, cerebellar hemispheres, and vermis) than alcoholic patients without WKS (47). There have been suggestions that cases of ARD are variants of the WKS due to combination of heterogeneity in presentation of the WKS along with a lack of distinct pathology for ARD (50).
Read our tips for supporting a person with ARBD (alcohol-related dementia and Wernicke-Korsakoff’s). You could potentially experience any combination of these effects when withdrawing from alcohol. You and your healthcare providers will have to decide on a plan to determine the safest steps as you begin the process of quitting alcohol. A diagnosis of dementia requires a comprehensive physical and psychological evaluation. This includes cognitive testing, which involves assessing thinking and problem-solving skills. Consider attending a support group does alcohol cause dementia for sobriety such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).
This literature review indicates that chronic alcohol misuse accelerates brain aging and contributes to cognitive impairments, including those in the mnemonic domain also affected in Alzheimer’s disease. Alcohol-related dementia — sometimes called alcohol-induced dementia, alcohol dementia, or ARD — is a type of cognitive decline directly linked to excessive, long-term alcohol consumption. Years of heavy drinking can cause alcohol-related dementia (ARD), often known as alcoholic dementia.
