There are some lifestyle behaviours with enough evidence to show that changing them will reduce your risk of dementia. A lifelong approach to good health is the best way to lower your risk of dementia. Early treatment is the key to successfully treating alcohol-related dementia. If caught early enough, patients with the more general type of ARD can significantly improve their condition by quitting alcohol and eating a balanced diet. The life expectancy of people with ARD varies, and more research is needed in this area.

Mixing Weed and Alcohol: Effects and Risks

Quality of life and life expectancy vary significantly from person to person. Talk to a doctor to address your symptoms and learn how you can manage and, in some cases, even reverse signs of your illness. For instance, research suggests that a five-year history of drinking 35 alcoholic beverages a week for men and 28 for women presents a “sufficient” risk for the development of ARD. Korsakoff syndrome causes confabulation, memory loss, and gait abnormalities.

What Is Dementia? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention

A person should consult a doctor if they are experiencing any of these symptoms to receive a prompt diagnosis. The study defined moderate drinking as consuming 1–13 standard drinks per week, equivalent to 10–130 grams (g) per week. However, many support services have a ‘complex needs’ team which are better equipped to support the different needs of someone with alcohol-related ‘dementia’.

Can Dementia Be Prevented? 8 Ways to Lower Your Risk

Memory and decision-making are also severely affected, which means that people living with this condition need help from trusted family or friends to manage home, finances, transportation, and more. Options may include inpatient or outpatient detoxification from alcohol, and sometimes, medication is necessary to help a person stop drinking. If you or a loved one is living with AUD, it can be challenging to stop drinking. Alcohol withdrawal can be can alcoholism cause dementia dangerous if you abruptly stop drinking after consuming large amounts of alcohol for a long time. A diagnosis of dementia requires a comprehensive physical and psychological evaluation. This includes cognitive testing, which involves assessing thinking and problem-solving skills.

• The early stages of any form of dementia tend to be subtle and difficult to notice.
• It is likely – for a wide range of reasons – that the condition is under-diagnosed.
• If you or a loved one is living with alcohol-related dementia, it can be extremely difficult to cope with—personally and for the family.
• While its cause is unknown, it is unlikely to be inherited or transmitted from person to person.
• Alcohol blocks the absorption of thiamine in the gut, creating a deficiency, which is a problem because nerve cells require thiamine to function properly.
• There are several reasons for this, including age-related changes in the brain, damage to the brain that develops over time, and the long-term effect of lifestyle factors linked to dementia.

How Alcohol Addiction Is Like an Abusive Relationship

Some experts think that a person can be assessed for alcohol-related ‘dementia’ while they are still drinking too much, as long as they aren’t intoxicated at the time of the assessment. If a doctor is unaware of the person drinking too much alcohol over many years, they may not consider alcohol-related ‘dementia’ as a possible diagnosis. The person may not get the right treatment and support, which is why it is important to tell doctors about drinking too much alcohol. Long-term heavy drinking can also result in a lack of vitamin B1 (thiamine) and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome which affects short-term memory. Despite some claims, drinking alcohol in moderation has not been shown to offer significant protection against developing dementia.

Talk to a healthcare provider or a loved one if you’re worried you’re drinking too much. Alcohol-related dementia usually affects people between the ages of 40 and 50 who have been drinking heavily for years. But you can develop alcohol-related dementia at any age if you’re heroin addiction drinking more alcohol than is safe.

• While the statistics can be intimidating, try to remember that they don’t determine your journey with ARD.
• A recent study determined the lifetime risk of developing dementia is double that of previous estimates.
• People who have a head injury, particularly a traumatic brain injury (TBI) which affects how the brain normally functions, have a greater risk of developing dementia.
• Medical treatment may help prevent the condition from getting worse.
• In the long-term, chronic alcohol use increases the risk of permanent brain damage.

Physician supervision could be necessary during this several-week process. These changes can significantly impact your daily life, making routine tasks such as cooking or paying payments difficult. They may also eventually affect your personality, social skills, and mood. If you continue to drink, symptoms will progressively develop and worsen.

• If you regularly drink much more than this, you are increasing your risk of damage to your brain and other organs, and so increasing your risk of dementia.
• In addition to a physical examination and medical history, your healthcare provider may order diagnostic testing to help reach specific causes for dementia symptoms.
• Continue reading to learn about alcoholic dementia, its symptoms, disease progression and its potential treatment.

People are generally able to live independently during the early stages of dementia, but subtle memory problems, such as losing items frequently, may occur. People with early-stage dementia may also find it more difficult to make complex decisions and express themselves. Older adults are at increased risk due to the cumulative effects of alcohol on an aging brain. Alcohol-related brain injuries affect a person’s social skills, making it harder to maintain relationships and participate in daily life activities. Alcohol abuse contributes to vascular dementia by damaging blood vessels and reducing blood flow to the brain. Consistent practice, combined with proper medical care and a healthy lifestyle, can significantly aid cognitive recovery.

Addiction can make it much more difficult to treat a person with ARBD. This is because professionals need to treat the person’s alcohol addiction together with their symptoms related to memory and thinking. This is known as alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) or alcohol-related brain injury (ARBI). Some people with ARBD will only have small changes to their thinking and memory, known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). They are at  risk of more serious brain damage unless they stop drinking.