In encouraging news for people recovering from alcohol use disorder, new research has demonstrated how quickly the brain can repair its structures when you stop drinking.
person who has alcohol use disorder (Australian dollar) tends to be thinner in their area cortex; the wrinkled outer layer of the brain that is important for so many higher cognitive functions. A US study found that people who stopped drinking alcohol had cortical thickness that increased over time, faster in the first month, continued for more than 7.3 months, and that the thickness at that point was greater than the AUD. I found it to be equivalent to someone who doesn’t.
Previous research In some areas, it has been shown that stopping drinking can lead to recovery, but it was largely unknown how quickly recovery would occur.
“The few longitudinal studies that have investigated changes in cortical thickness during abstinence have been limited to the first month of abstinence.” write The team is led by Timothy Durazzo, a psychiatrist and behavioral scientist at Stanford University.
“However, the extent of regional cortical thickness recovery over long periods of abstinence (e.g., >6 months) is unknown.”
Estimation 16 million people in the US The Australian dollar is suffering.it’s major public health issuesAnd understanding this complex disease is important for treatment, prevention, and reducing stigma.
Changes in brain structure and function during chronic alcohol use can make it difficult to stop drinking, even with the best intentions. for example, prefrontal cortex – Areas involved in planning and decision-making – may slow down. It becomes difficult for people with Australian dollars to make sound decisions.
Durazzo et al. also examined how some health conditions, smoking history, mental illness, and substance use disorders influence long-term changes in cortical thickness in people recovering from AUD.
A total of 88 AUD patients participated in the study and underwent brain scans after approximately 1 week, 1 month, and 7.3 months of abstinence. Some participants joined at his one month mark. This means that 23 people did not have a scan at her one week point, and only 40 out of a total of 88 remained abstinent throughout the entire period.
They also measured cortical thickness in 45 people who had never had AUD at baseline and again about nine months later to ensure that the areas measured were the same.
some kind of magnetic resonance imaging To observe the participants’ brains, they used MRI, which is particularly useful for taking clear pictures of the internal structures of the body. The researchers recorded cortical thickness in 34 regions by averaging measurements across the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
Recovery of weight after 7.3 months of abstinence was fairly common in AUD patients. It was sufficient that 25 of the 34 regions were statistically significant, of which the thickness of 24 regions was considered statistically equivalent to the control.
Across all 34 cortical regions that Durazzo and his team investigated, the rate of thickness change in AUD participants was faster from 1 week to 1 month after quitting than from 1 month to 7.3 months. Ta.
Cortical thickening occurred more slowly in parts of the brain of AUD patients who also had high blood pressure or high cholesterol. The same was true for AUD people who were current smokers.
No significant relationships were found between changes in cortical thickness and current drug abuse (including drugs other than alcohol), mental illness, or past smoking. Therefore, smoking cessation may also contribute to recovery of cortical thickness.
These results provide encouragement and new understanding of brain recovery after alcohol withdrawal, but may not be generalizable due to small sample size and lack of diversity. It’s also important to note that these findings do not indicate whether the changes affected brain function.
“Larger longitudinal studies are needed to examine the neurocognitive and psychosocial correlates of cortical thickness recovery during sustained abstinence in AUD,” the research team said. write.
The authors also note that variables not taken into account may have influenced the study results, such as genetics, physical activity, and people’s liver and lung health.
“This data provides clinically relevant information about the beneficial effects of sustained abstinence on human brain morphology,” the authors said. conclude“and strengthening the adaptive effects of abstinence-based recovery in the Australian dollar.”
This study alcohol.
