Does Alcohol Help Prevent Alzheimer's?

I have always been a lightweight when it comes to drinking. It only takes one or two glasses of wine to get me tipsy. One of my college roommates speculated that I might be afflicted with some type of anti-social disease that made me allergic to alcohol. It turns out that this "affliction" may have been protecting my brain from Alzheimer's all along.

Research has shown an association between drinking alcohol in moderation and having a lower risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. A recent study including almost 15,000 participants found that light drinkers had a nearly 30 percent lower risk for dementia when compared to people who either abstained completely or who overindulged. This was not a double-blind placebo controlled study, so it is not absolute proof that moderate drinking protects the brain, but it is still nice to know that while enjoying one glass of wine at dinner, there's a possibility that it's protecting my brain.

Too much alcohol, however, has been shown to be harmful to the brain, and just how much is too much varies according to the particular study. Some studies suggest that one glass of wine or spirits is brain protective for women and two glasses are the healthy brain limit for men. This difference between the sexes may simply reflect the fact that men are usually larger than women and can therefore tolerate more alcohol.

Some experts suggest that light alcohol consumption lowers the risk for Alzheimer's because of its associated lifestyle habits. People who drink in moderation may deal with many other aspects of their lives in moderation, and that personality style might protect their brains from chronic stress -- another risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.

Another possibility is that a chemical in an alcoholic beverage protects the brain, while too much of this chemical does not. Scientists at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York studied the effects of wine on experimental laboratory mice that possessed a human Alzheimer's gene. They found that when the mice ingested moderate amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon wine -- the mouse-equivalent of a six-ounce glass -- the animals had better memory ability and less of the protein building-blocks that lead to amyloid plaques in the brain.

Small amounts of wine, beer and hard liquor all appear to lower risk for Alzheimer's disease. The antioxidant chemicals in alcohol could protect the brain, and wine drinkers may benefit from an additional healthy brain compound found in grapes called resveratrol, which increases life span in animals similar to caloric restriction. Some researchers believe that a person might have to consume too much wine to reap the healthy brain benefits of resveratrol, but the exact amount is not known. Scientists have finally succeeded in squeezing this ingredient out of the wine bottle and into a capsule, so we all can live longer and better by taking resveratrol capsules. It's not yet clear whether the needed ingredient actually reaches the brain in capsule form, so wine lovers will be happy to know that they may still need to wash down their resveratrol capsules with a nice glass of Bordeaux.

For more by Gary W. Small, M.D., click here.

For more on Alzheimer's disease, click here.

Gary Small, M.D., is director of UCLA's Longevity Center and co-author of "The Alzheimer's Prevention Program: Keep Your Brain Healthy for the Rest of Your Life."

 

 

 

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Comments

[Lane Simonian]

03:41 PM on 01/19/2012

There is no one single cause of Alzheimer's disease. Here is a short list of factors that can contribute to Alzheimer's disease: high glucose levels, high blood pressure, the APOE4 gene, presenilin gene mutations, bisphosphonate osteoporosis drugs, a chronic bacterial or viral infection, sleep apnea, mercury, aluminum fluoride, sodium fluoride, mercury, and stress. All of these factors contribute fo the formation of peroxynitrites (though peroxynitrties cause alterations of prion proteins which are present in other infectious diseases, there is no indication to date that Alzheimer's can be transferred from one human being to another). Phenolic compounds (such as resveratrol and rosmarinic acid) and polyunsaturated fats (such as fish oil) impede the pathway that leads to Alzheimer's disease. Peroxynitrite scavengers (phenolic compounds again, for instance) inhibit the release of glutamate and influx of calcium which kills neurons, probably partially reverse the nitration of tau proteins contributing to better neurotransmission and to the dissolution of amyloid plaques (peroxynitrite formation both precedes and proceeds the formation of amyloid plaques), and partially reverses the oxidation of choline transport systems, the enzyme choline acetyltransferases, and receptors involved in memory (muscarinic acetylcholine), sleep (melatonin), smell (oflactory), mood (serotonin and opioid), social recognition (oxytocin), and alertness (dopamine). Thus, if they can be delivered in sufficient quantities, phenolic compounds can both be used to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease.

[asnpharmaceutical]

12:42 AM on 01/19/2012

Resveratrol is a compound found in the skin of grapes, certain berries and in the polygonium cuspidatum plant. Since the skins of grapes are used in making wine, resveratrol is also present in wine, especially red wine.

Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant that can help protect the heart by neutralizing free radicals in the body. Free radicals are unstable molecules that attack healthy cells and damage membranes and DNA. Elimination of free radicals can provide life prolonging effects through cell renewal.

Resvinex 500 is a high dose resveratrol supplement manufactured in the United States by ASN Pharmaceutical to deliver 500 mg of trans-resveratrol per serving for its potential anti aging benefits. Order now at http://www.asn-pharmaceutical.com

[Phytoresearcher]

09:42 PM on 01/18/2012

It is unlikely that alcohol itself is the compound responsible for the apparent beneficial effects of wine consumption. Rather, the molecule more likely to be protecting against dementia and potentially Alzheimer's Disease is transmax resveratrol. Numerous human clinical trials show that transmax has chemo protective properties vis a vis cancer, heart disease and diabetes as well.

[Heidi Lindborg]

03:38 PM on 01/18/2012

Alcohol has nothing to do with it. The relationship is coincidental. Alzheimer's Disease is caused by HSV1, the virus that causes cold sores. Here's the evidence from your very own database- Medscape: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/729391