Alcohol is a risk factor not for thalamic but for putaminal hemorrhage: the Akita Stroke Registry

Cerebral Hemorrhage and Alcohol Exposure: A Review

Aims

To investigate the dose–response relationships between alcohol and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), the impact of alcohol on the outcome of ICH and possible mechanisms underlying hypertensive ICH (HICH) caused by heavy drinking.

Methods

Literature search from 1985 to August 2019 in the PubMed database.

Results

The relationship between low-middle alcohol consumption and ICH remains controversial for various reasons, whereas chronic heavy drinking increases the incidence of ICH and exerts worse outcome. More attention is needed to clarify the characteristics of chronic alcohol intake and binge drinking. Chronic alcohol abuse tends to elevates blood pressure, resulting in increased occurrence of HICH and exaggerated HICH-contributed brain injury.

Conclusion

It is important to develop strategies to promote reasonable intake categories, prevent alcoholism and thus reduce the risk of ICH.

Structural and microstructral imaging of the brain in alcohol use disorders

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), by enabling rigorous in vivo study of the longitudinal, dynamic course of alcoholism through periods of drinking, sobriety, and relapse, has enabled characterization of the effects of chronic alcoholism on the brain in the human condition. Importantly, MRI has distinguished alcohol-related brain effects that are permanent versus those that are reversible with abstinence. In support of postmortem neuropathologic studies showing degeneration of white matter, MRI has shown a specific vulnerability of brain white matter to chronic alcohol exposure by demonstrating white-matter volume deficits, yet not leaving selective gray-matter structures unscathed. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), by permitting microstructural characterization of white matter, has extended MRI findings in alcoholics. This review focuses on MRI and DTI findings in common concomitants of alcoholism, including Wernicke's encephalopathy, Korsakoff's syndrome, hepatic encephalopathy, central pontine myelinolysis, alcoholic cerebellar degeneration, alcoholic dementia, and Marchiafava-Bignami disease as a framework for findings in so-called "uncomplicated alcoholism," and also covers findings in abstinence and relapse.

Association of smoking and alcohol drinking with dementia risk among elderly men in China

BACKGROUND

Previous studies relating smoking and alcohol drinking with the incidence of dementia have been inconsistent.

OBJECTIVES

We assessed whether smoking and alcohol drinking was associated with the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) after seven years of follow-up.

DESIGN

We prospectively analysed the incidence of dementia from 2004 to 2011 among 2959 elderly men, according to their smoking and alcohol drinking status.

SETTING

six neighbourhoods from three districts mentioned in Chongqing city.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 3170 men were followed up annually for 7 years.

MEASUREMENTS

Cox proportional hazards models were established to evaluate the association between smoking, alcohol drinking and the risk of dementia.

RESULTS

The incidences of AD and VaD were higher respectively in current smoking than never smoking, daily drinking than never drinking over 7 years of follow-up (p<0.01). After adjusting for age and other potential confounders, current smoking was associated with increased risk of AD (HR= 2.14, 95% CI 1.20-4.46) and VaD (HR= 3.28, 95% CI 1.14-4.52), meanwhile, daily drinking was related to increased risk of AD (HR= 2.25, 95% CI 1.43-3.97) and VaD (HR= 3.42, 95% CI 1.18-4.51). In addition, co-smoking and drinking were related to with a significantly higher risk of AD and VaD than non-smoking and drinking (HR= 3.03, 95% CI 1.65-4.19) and VaD (HR= 3.96, 95% CI 1.64-4.71). Moreover, co-smoking and drinking had higher risk of AD and VaD compared with current smoking and daily drinking.

CONCLUSIONS

Current smoking and daily drinking were found to be significantly associated with dementia in elderly men.