Alcohol: A Possible Method of Treatment?

Alcohol: A Possible Method of Treatment?

From a cold beer after a long day to tequila shots on a night out, for over 10,000 years or so, humans have been consuming fermented beverages. It is no secret of the adverse consequences from heavy alcohol consumption. Many studies have indicated that alcohol can disrupt sleep, cloud one’s judgement and make one more susceptible to health conditions. However, recent studies have shown that the negative connotation of alcohol may be a misnomer.  Can a glass a day actually keep the doctor away?

Recent statistics have shown that a woman of 65 has a 1 in 6 chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease in comparison to a man who has a 1 in 11 chance of developing the disease. Thus, could consuming alcohol decrease these chances for women who are more susceptible to this condition? Surprisingly, according to a recent study, women who were “moderate drinkers (those who consumed less than 15.0g of alcohol per day [about one drink]) had better mean cognitive scores than nondrinkers” (Effect). From this study, the data demonstrated that in women, one drink a day will not diminish cognitive function but, may actually decrease the risk of cognitive decline.  If alcohol has the potential to decrease the risk of cognition decline, could this be used as a possible treatment method for Alzheimer’s?

Michael Collins spoke at Loyola University Chicago about the research his fellow colleagues and him conducted which provided addition evidence that moderate alcohol consumption could prevent cognitive impairments. The research included rat brains that were preconditioned with moderate levels of ethanol, a substance commonly found in alcoholic drinks. However, their data also indicated that ethanol induces a neuroprotective state in the brain by inhibiting neurotoxic proteins such as amyloid peptides which are thought to play a vital role in Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, if moderate levels of ethanol can prevent the activity of peptides commonly associated with Alzheimer’s disease, it is quite possible that this could potentially be a form of treatment for women.

Works Cited

"Effect of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Cognitive Function in Women." New England Journal Of Medicine. New England Journal of Medicine, 20 Jan. 2005. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa041152#t=article

Mitchell, Robert M., Nuzhath Tajuddin, Edward M. Campbell, and Michael A. Collins.
"Ethanol Preconditioning of Rat Cerebellar Cultures Targets NMDA Receptors to the Synapse and Enchances Peroxiredoxin 2 Expression." N.p., 2 Sept. 2015. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
https://luc.app.box.com/neuroscienceseminar/1/4816585057/39109874545/1

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