In fact, buzzkill alert:No level of alcohol consumption is considered safe.
Its not just a euphemism; booze kills brain cellskind of, at least.
Once alcohol reaches the brain, it can damage the neurons that reside there.
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Unlike other types of dementia, this throw in of alcohol-induced neurocognitive disorder usually progresses slowly.
By contrast, folks with traditionaldementiacan deteriorate quite quickly.
At one end of the spectrum, you have mild to moderate cognitive impairment.
This means folks may regain skills like emotional regulation and motor skills, but not memory and attention capacity.
Alcohol deprives us of thiamine.
But if you get past that, they go into the Korsakoff phase, and theres no treatment.
Loss of brain tissue has already occurred.
In general, if someone keeps drinking, the situation becomes more and more severe, Dr. Rothenberg says.
No single test can determine if someones drinking has led to brain impairment.
They also ask about your medical and drinking history.
Its difficult to diagnose because a lot of people tend to underreport their drinking, Savage says.
Also, for Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, people need to say they have a poor diet.
So people must answer honestly…but that may be difficult if theirmemory is impaired.
For this reason, providers may ask loved ones about the patients health and day-to-day living.
Thats why its crucial to get help as soon as possible.
The first step is going sober, ideally under the supervision of a medical provider.
When you read the literature about addiction, nothing works better than total cessation, she says.
For some people, this may mean joining a peer group like Alcoholics Anonymous.
Others may prefer individual counseling such as cognitive behavioral therapy, which has also been shown to be effective.
People can have tremors, shakes, and even convulsions, Savage explains.
Additionally, people with Wernicke encephalopathy often need thiamine via an IV.
Many times, it can reverse the most acute symptoms, Dr. Rothenberg says.
If all of this scares you a bit, remember: how much you drink matters.
Usually, only chronic, heavy drinking is associated with alcohol-related dementia.
Consider shaking up a freshmocktailor cracking open one of the countlessbetter-for-you sodason the market.
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