ALCOHOL AS A RISK FACTOR FOR DEMENTIA: A REVIEW OF ETHANOL-INDUCED NEUROTOXICITY AND ITS MECHANISM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31435/ijitss.2(50).2026.5419Keywords:
Alcohol, Dementia, Brain Atrophy, Alcohol NeurotoxicityAbstract
Dementia is a significant public health concern that is expected to worsen in the future due to the growing proportion of elderly people in the population. One of the important and modifiable risk factors for this condition is alcohol consumption. The effect of alcohol on the development of dementia is dose-dependent; excessive intake increases the overall risk of developing dementia and also leads to a characteristic alcohol-induced neurocognitive disorder, sometimes referred to as alcohol-related dementia. Even moderate alcohol intake results in detectable changes in the brain, observable from a young age. These effects are caused by alcohol-induced neurotoxicity, including mechanisms such as neuroinflammation, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), acetaldehyde toxicity, and thiamine deficiency. This review summarizes the impact of alcohol consumption on the development of dementia, as well as the mechanisms of neurotoxicity caused by ethanol and its metabolic products.
Methodology: The study was based on scientific articles available in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Katarzyna Helena Sergiel, Katarzyna Bednarczuk, Magda Downar-Zapolska, Dominik Fidorowicz, Marta Góral, Agnieszka Mikłaszewicz, Daniel Sagan, Rafał Siedlecki, Aleksandra Irena Skuza, Emilia Torbacka
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