dementia caused by alcohol?

[kaiser1]

My wife is obviously suffering from dementia but has the brain checks by MRI and the consultant is pretty certain that it is not Alzheimer's . She is now going for a more advanced MRI to check for any extra information but has indicated to me that the dementia may be caused by alcohol. We are both regular drinkers but I was shocked as I do not think that we drink to excess!
Has anyone got any information about this as info on the net is rather sketchy.

 

[jeany123]

Hello and welcome to Talking Point, there is a fact sheet here which might be about what the GP is talking about,

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/factsheet/438?gclid=CNSQpoPKxMcCFUrpwgodzEYHng

 

[jenniferpa]

What I imagine they are talking about is Korsakoff's syndrome. There is a fact sheet here http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=98

 

[Cat27]

Hello kaiser

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=98

 

[Cat27]

We've all posted the same fact sheet

 

[woodbrooklabs]

Good post, be wondering about my dad and alcohol. Hasn't been diagnosed with anything as yet, but been drinker for about 20 years, maybe 4 nights a week, more recently. Wondered could alcohol be part of the problem. Will read up on these also.

Thanks

 

[Angela T]

When my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's last year, the full diagnosis was "alcohol-related dementia/Alzheimer's".

I actually found a lot of info on Internet about alcohol related dementia (ARD).

 

[Beate]

The good news is that with this kind of dementia you can partly recover or at least not get worse if you are prepared to stop drinking and watch your diet. So whatever the final diagnosis will be, it might be time to cut down on the alcohol.

 

[Angela T]

The good news is that with this kind of dementia you can partly recover or at least not get worse if you are prepared to stop drinking and watch your diet. So whatever the final diagnosis will be, it might be time to cut down on the alcohol.

Yes, I had not made the link - but it's true that since my mother has been in care (8 months), she is not drinking much alcohol, and we have noticed an improvement - sometimes she is really sharp and her memory surprises us !

 

[kaiser1]

just a bit of hope is welcome at the moment!

The good news is that with this kind of dementia you can partly recover or at least not get worse if you are prepared to stop drinking and watch your diet. So whatever the final diagnosis will be, it might be time to cut down on the alcohol.[/QUOTE

Thanks for your advice-started on B vitamins and cut down alcohol already even before sophisticated MRI!

 

[canary]

There is another possibility here - fronto temporal dementia, where alcohol bingeing is a symptom of the disease rather than the cause of it

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=167

Hopefully they will get to bottom of the cause soon.