Alcohol damages brain in women

Generally women are less likely to be alcohol dependant than men, but they appear to develop alcoholic brain damage more rapidly than men.Researchers from the University of Heidelberg in Mannheim found that there is evidence for a faster progression of the developmental events leading to dependence among female alcoholics (the telescoping effect) and an earlier onset of adverse consequences of alcoholism.To investigate, the researchers studied 42 alcoholic women and 34 alcoholic men who had been admitted for 6 weeks of in-hospital treatment. A comparison group of 82 male and female controls were also recruited. The researchers performed brain CAT scans on the patients at the beginning and end of treatment and once in controls.

It was found that the female alcoholics became dependent later than the men but had a more rapid development of dependence. Women showed equal alcohol consumption in relation to body weight in the last year and developed equal brain volume reductions as men after a significantly shorter period of alcohol dependence than men.Although the loss of brain volume partially reversed over the 6 weeks, it did not reach the level seen in controls. Because of the telescoping effect, early diagnosis and early prevention are even more important for women with alcohol problems than for men.

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