All ABout Alcohol damages the white matter of the brain, show scanner

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Tuesday, November 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) - All aboutAlcohol damages white matter in the brain and the damage can be detected with brain scans, the researchers report.

Excessive all alcohol consumption can be particularly damaging to the white matter in the frontal regions of the brain, which can interfere with impulse control necessary to stop drinking, according to the study.

The results were published in the online edition December Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

The researchers used high-resolution scanners structural magnetic resonance imaging to compare the brains of 20 drinkers and 31 abstinent alcoholics who drank on average 25 years old and had been sober for about five years.

"There were two main findings of our study," Catherine Brawn Fortier, a neuropsychologist at the VA Boston Healthcare System and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, said in a journal news release.

"First, recovered alcoholics showed reductions in white matter pathways in the brain compared to healthy light drinkers. This means that the tracks that allow different parts of your brain to communicate effectively and efficiency are you troubled by alcoholism, "he said.

Second, "the more you drink, the more damage the key as inferior frontal gyrus brain structures, in particular," said Fortier.

"This part of the brain involved in inhibitory control and decision, so tragically, it seems that some areas of the brain that are most affected by alcohol are important for self-control and judgment, the same things they need to recover from the abuse of alcohol, "he said.

Terence Keane is a professor of psychiatry and psychology and research associate dean at the School of Medicine at Boston University. He said, "The implications of the day of this study are clear :. Light drinking abstinence and lead to better health and better brain function excessive consumption of alcohol "

Keane said in the press release that "alcoholism led to many changes associated with brain dysfunction and decreases its ability to function and heal."

And, he added, "The more alcohol abuse more your chance of permanent damage. So if you or someone you know needs help reduce consumption, they do now."