Alcohol and Memory Loss

Killing your body and your memory: Alcohol and memory loss

Countless studies prove it: alcohol and memory loss are directly related. Ever had that time when you had a little too much to drink and can't remember what happened the night before? That's only a taste of the effects alcohol has on your memory.

Many people don't seem to associate alcohol and memory loss with each other, but studies show that alcohol and memory loss really go hand in hand. Studies have shown that young people who are known to binge drink (drink large amounts one day and none the next) are more susceptible to memory loss later in their lives. Other research has shown a greater lack of judgment and increasing forgetfulness within subjects that frequently consume alcohol.

Frequent use of alcohol results in a lack of vitamin B-1 (thiamin), which affects the central nervous system in harmful ways. A disorder, known as the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, is linked to this effect alcohol has on the nervous system. This syndrome is actually two diseases that can occur either independently, or together.

The Wernicke disease is one that damages all parts of the nervous system and is attributed to malnutrition often from alcoholism. The Korsakoff syndrome is described as the loss or impairment of memory and/or cognitive skills such as problem solving and learning. Both diseases link alcohol and memory loss together and show the real dangers of alcoholism. This syndrome is treatable, but the memory loss sustained from the damage may not be repairable.