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2007-8-31 15:24:14 |
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Alcohol drinking in moderation may slow progression to dementia in people with mild cognitive impairment, suggests an Italian study published in the May 22 issue of Neurology, a journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Howvever, the study per se did not establish any causal relationship between drinking alcohol and cognitive impairment, meaning that drinking wine or other alcoholic beverages does not necessarily provide any protection against dementia in a particular person. Mild cognitive impairment is a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia, which is used to classify people with mild memory or cognitive problems, but no significant disability, according to Xinhua News. In the study, researchers investigated any possible correlation between alcohol consumption and incidence of mild cognitive impairment in 1,445 people. Among the subjects, 121 people had mild cognitive impairment and researchers monitored their progression to dementia for three and a half years. Among the participants with mild cognitive impairment, those who drank up to one glass of alcohol a day, mostly wine, developed dementia at an 85 percent slower rate than people who never drank alcohol. "While many studies have assessed alcohol consumption and cognitive function in the elderly, this is the first study to look at how alcohol consumption affects the rate of progression of mild cognitive impairment to dementia," Incenzo Solfrizzi and Francesco Panza, the authors of the study, at the University of Bari, in Italy were quoted by news outlets as saying. "The mechanism responsible for why low alcohol consumption appears to protect against the progression to dementia isn't known. However, it is possible that the arrangement of blood vessels in the brain may play a role in why alcohol consumption appears to protect against dementia," the researchers said. "This would support other observations that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol may protect the brain from stroke and vascular dementia." However, those who drank more than one glass a day did not experience any slower progression to dementia, compared to those who did not drink at all. The study is not the only one that has found a link between moderate drinking of alcohol and protection against dementia. Similar findings resulted from a similar epidemiological study conducted by the French Institute of Health and Medical research and published in the May 1997 issue of British Medical Journal. The French study of 3777 men and women age 65 or older who lived in or near Bordeaux started in 1998 and lasted for almost three years. 99 people were diagnosed with dementia, including 66 with Alzheimer's disease. Dr Jean-Marc Orgogozo, professor of neurology, and Dr Jean-François Dartigues, professor of epidemiology, both at the University of Bordeaux found only 0.9 percent of moderate drinkers got dementia, compared with 4.9 percent of non-drinkers, 5.1percent of light drinkers and 1.6 percent of heavy drinkers. Among the participants, 41 percent were light drinkers (two glasses a day), 12 percent moderate drinkers (three to four glasses or between 250 ml and 500 ml) and three percent heavy drinkers who drank more than five glasses. Drinking alcohol, particularly wine is believed by many to be beneficial. Critics have pointed that the results of this type of study may easily be influenced by the errors and biases introduced in the study. It is not clear through what type of errors or biases may be introduced in the current study. Some critics alleged that researchers in some early studies deliberately grouped into non-drinkers those who had a history of drinking alcohol, but quit drinking because of their deteriorating health conditions, resulting in findings that drinking alcohol benefits health. Another possibility, as some researchers who did not believe the association between drinking alcohol and mental health explained, is that people who drank wine tended to take better care of themselves, meaning it does not necessarily drinking helps people protect against mild cognitive impairment or dementia. Even if the protection against dementia is real, those with mild cognitive impairment who intend to jump start their drinking regimen may give it a second thought, a foodconsumer.org scientist suggested. Regardless of the effect of drinking alcohol on the dementia risk, alcohol beverages are cancer-causing agents, recognized by the U.S. government. The U.S. physicians recommend that those who drink should drink in moderation and those who do not drink should not start drinking. |
