From: hounddog23x@gmail.com   
      
   Binge drinkers 'risking dementia'   
      
   Drunk girl   
   Binge drinkers are at increased risk of dementia   
   Urgent action is needed to prevent Britain heading for a dementia epidemic   
   caused by the nation's binge-drinking culture, experts have warned.   
   Research published in the British Journal of Psychiatry links excessive   
   drinking and a loss of brain tissue.   
   Dr Susham Gupta and Dr James Warner said people were drinking almost double   
   what they were in the 1960s and claimed cheaper alcohol could be a cause.   
   They said the problem might only be curbed by introducing tough laws.   
   Binge drinking is associated with a higher risk of dementia.   
   Alcohol is said to account for around a tenth of all cases, while heavy   
   drinking to believed to contribute to almost a quarter.   
   The report writers pointed out the price of alcohol relative to average UK   
   income had halved since the 1960s.   
   	   
    As drinking habits change, it is vital we understand more about the   
   relationship between alcohol and this devastating condition   
   Dr Susanne Sorensen   
   Alzheimer's Society   
   Between the early part of that decade and 2000, consumption of pure alcohol   
   per head was said to have nearly doubled from less than six litres a year to   
   more than 11.5 litres.   
   The pair said that if trends continued, within 10 years the UK population   
   would be drinking more alcohol than any other country in Europe.   
   They wrote: "Given the neurotoxic effects of alcohol and the inexorable   
   increase in per capita consumption, future generations may see a   
   disproportionate increase in alcohol-related dementia."   
   'Brain damage'   
   They said although "moderate drinking" was associated with health benefits,   
   binge-drinking was potentially "highly destructive".   
   At high intake levels, the benefits of alcohol were reversed leading to high   
   blood pressure, raised levels of harmful blood fats, and brain damage.   
   They admitted any "public health initiatives" warning people about the risk   
   could be "unpopular and ineffective" but felt legislation could be an option.   
   The issue was also discussed in September by psychiatrists at a conference   
   hosted by Dementia Services Development Centre at the University of Stirling.   
   Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at the Alzheimer's Society, said that   
   one in three people over 65 died with dementia.   
   She said: "Binge drinkers hitting the town on a Saturday night are becoming a   
   familiar sight, but we don't yet understand how it will affect the numbers of   
   people with dementia."   
   She said previous research had focused on alcoholics who had an increased risk   
   of dementia because they did not eat enough for long time-periods.   
   She said: "In contrast, binge drinkers drink heavily at certain times but may   
   still eat well and therefore do not have the same type of risk.   
   "As drinking habits change, it is vital we understand more about the   
   relationship between alcohol and this devastating condition."   
      
   http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7703687.stm   
      
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