Content of review 1, reviewed on June 07, 2017

Higher alcohol intake was associated with reduced gray matter density, hippocampal atrophy, and reduced white matter microstructural integrity. Greater consumption was also linked to reduced lexical fluency (i.e., information retrieval based on spelling). Alcohol's effects were dose-dependent, with negative effects emerging with 7–14 units per week (14 units are equivalent to 4 pints of strong beer or 5 large glasses of wine). Light drinking (1–7 units/week) didn't have a protective effect. The point of this study is that the type of the alcohol beverage was not taken into account. It's quite known that the clinical outcomes after drinking of red wine and strong beverages dramatically differ. Regretfully, this study doesn't allow to draw any conclusions and make any recommendations to our patients regarding the moderate drinking of red wine which is very beneficial for cardiovascular mortality and even in diabetic patients (Bell S, et al., BMJ 2017; doi: 10.1136/bmj.j909).

Source

    © 2017 the Reviewer (CC BY 4.0).

References

    Anya, T., L., A. C., Vyara, V., Eniko, Z., Nicola, F., Claire, S., Abda, M., Peggy, F., Archana, S., E., M. C., Mika, K., P., E. K. 2017. Moderate alcohol consumption as risk factor for adverse brain outcomes and cognitive decline: longitudinal cohort study. BMJ.