Stay safe !
Posted on 11/27/2004 7:05:27 PM PST by neverdem
REALLY?
THE FACTS When ancient Greeks wanted to reassure guests that their wine had not been spiked with poison, they toasted to good health. While that may be less of a worry today, there remain hazards from indulging in too much alcohol - including, of course, hangovers. But one thing people who drink socially probably don't need to worry about is sacrificing brain cells in the process.
The research indicates that adults who drink in moderation are not in danger of losing brain cells.
The notion that alcohol snuffs out brain cells has been around for years. Many studies have linked drinking with mental deficits, and long-term damage from years of heavy drinking has been well documented. The developing brain is particularly vulnerable, some studies show, putting teenagers and unborn children at greatest risk.
But Dr. Roberta J. Pentney, a former researcher at the State University of New York at Buffalo, found that alcohol disrupts brain function in adults by damaging message-carrying dendrites on neurons in the cerebellum, a structure involved in learning and motor coordination. This reduces communication between neurons, alters their structure and causes some of the impairment associated with intoxication. It does not kill off entire cells, however.
A study in 1999 that examined the brains of alcoholics appeared to confirm this. Published in the journal Neuroscience, the research found that subjects who developed Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a severe disorder that ravages the memory and stems from a thiamine deficiency associated with alcoholism, had a marked reduction in cell density in the cerebellum.
But there was little difference between alcoholics who did not develop the syndrome and normal subjects, suggesting that it was largely a lack of thiamine in the Wernicke-Korsakoff patients that killed off their cells.
Other studies, including one published in The British Medical Journal in 1997, have produced similar findings.
THE BOTTOM LINE Alcohol may not kill brain cells per se, but it can impair brain function, among other things.
ANAHAD O'CONNOR
scitimes@nytimes.com
I'd like to say she's easy on the eyes.......can't !
Mind if I send that to my son? Him and a few other guys are drinking and playing poker while the girls are at the Worlds Largest Disco here in beautiful broke downtown Buffalo. Since they are also babysitting four kids I think they may be indulging!!
ROTFLMAO !!........Stay safe !
James and Mary, I think.
Wow I didn't think I had drank that many already!
Isn't excessive or binge drinking linked to some forms of early onset Parkinson's? I read that in a tabloid (I know, great source!). It was a story about a young celebrity with the disease.
Then why bother?
mmmmmmmm beer.....
Stay safe !
Alcohol kills brain cells?
Well, I just did a post on my blog about all the stuff that kills brain cells...(I did a search of only the BBC web site)...and this is what I found:
Obesity kills brain cells...cell phones kill brain cells...cocaine kills brain cells...jet lag kills brain cells...
Etc. Etc...
It's a wonder that anyone has any brain cells left...
LMAO
Winning response post.
Your prize.
Let's hear it for th' monkey!
Apologies to Ray Stevens
Awesome!! Got any more?? I've never seen any like these.
Everything in moderation, I say...
Including moderation.
Young lady.........did I pass?
I am sure drinking really makes you smarter.... after 6 or 7 beers I become an expert on everything!
Beer goggles indicate young lady.
But when the buzz wears off in the morning, its gonna be a different story.
A racy illusion.....ya been warned !
http://www.bobandtom.com/gen3/6cover_img/illusion.jpg
Stay safe !
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