(CNN) - A new study showed that people who drank heavily run a greater risk for a form of brain damage that can be associated with Alzheimer’s and other memory loss conditions.
But even moderate drinkers may be at risk. Both groups suffer a greater risk than nondrinkers of developing a condition called hippocampal atrophy.
Heavy drinkers saw a faster decline in language skills and had poorer white-matter integrity, which is crucial to processing thoughts quickly.
The study’s heaviest drinkers had a little more than two medium glasses of wine or beer every night of the week. The moderate group had about a medium glass of wine each night, plus a little extra on the weekend.
Eric Rimm, a professor of medicine at Harvard, told CNN that there are many other lifestyle factors that are not taken into account in this study – like nutrition.
Rimm was not involved in the study.
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