Alcoholic Brains Can Recover With Abstinence

Some damage caused to the brain by chronic alcohol consumption does begin to reverse itself once alcoholics stop drinking, if they do not wait too long to stop. An international study, using sophisticated scanning technology and computer software to measure how brain volume, form and function changed during abstinence, found that the damaged brain will regenerate, but the amount of improvement is related to how long the person drank excessively.

"The core message from this study is that, for alcoholics, abstinence pays off and enables the brain to regain some substance and to perform better," said Dr Andreas Bartsch from the University of Wuerzburg, Germany, in a news release. "However, our research also provides evidence that the longer you drink excessively, the more you risk losing this capacity for regeneration. Therefore, alcoholics must not put off the time when they decide to seek help and stop drinking; the sooner they do it, the better."

More Information:

• Brains Can Recover From Alcoholic Damage
  
• Binge Drinking Affects Brain, Memory
  
• Female Drinking and Brain Damage

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