Alcohol use disorder may speed up Alzheimer’s disease. A new study compared gene activity in brain cells from people with Alzheimer’s and people with alcohol use disorder (AUD). It found many of the same changes. That overlap suggests long-term heavy drinking can raise Alzheimer’s risk and speed it up.
Summary: A new study looked at gene activity in brain cells of people with Alzheimer’s and alcohol use disorder (AUD). It found many similarities. So the study suggests AUD may raise Alzheimer’s risk and also speed it up.
Alcohol is fairly called the most widely used legal, mind-altering substance in the US. Caffeine is also a mind-altering substance. But it does not cause a high or drunkenness like alcohol does. Drinking also changes behavior.
Drunk responsibly, alcohol is safe. At higher doses, it is harmful. There have been many studies on drinking. They show about 10% of US adults drink more than recommended, or about 29 million adults in the US are living with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Those are huge numbers.
Alzheimer’s is also one of the most common diseases. It is one of the top 5 leading causes of death in the US. At any time, more than 7 million adults are living with Alzheimer’s in the US.
So it makes sense to study the link between AUD and Alzheimer’s. It is no secret that people drink because alcohol changes brain activity. That also means not all of alcohol’s changes to the brain are good. At higher doses, alcohol may damage brain cells and change brain chemistry. Long-term drinking, like in people with AUD, may cause brain changes that cannot be undone.
Now a new study shows AUD may speed up Alzheimer’s in some people who carry certain kinds of genes. Many people with AUD or Alzheimer’s have similar gene activity patterns in the brain.
The findings were published in the journal eNeuro. Researchers say people with Alzheimer’s have many of the same genes and pathways out of balance as people with AUD. That suggests a link between the two. It also suggests long-term drinking or alcohol abuse may speed up Alzheimer’s. For people looking to deal with alcohol problems, exploring alcohol addiction treatment online may offer easy-to-reach options that work.
What makes this research different is that it did not look at DNA. It looked at RNA, which shows gene activity inside brain cells. The researchers wanted to see whether gene activity in people with AUD and Alzheimer’s was similar.
This study built on an earlier one showing some similarities in gene activity between people with AUD and Alzheimer’s. For this study, researchers studied RNA from hundreds of thousands of brain cells from 75 patients at different stages of Alzheimer’s. They compared the results with brain cells from 10 people without Alzheimer’s.
Gene activity was far more alike between people with AUD and Alzheimer’s than in healthy adults (people without Alzheimer’s who did not abuse alcohol).
Researchers say this deepens our understanding of Alzheimer’s. The study shows alcohol must be added to the list of Alzheimer’s risk factors.
Of course, larger studies are still needed. Still, this study brings new insights. It also shows how studying single cells can help explain complex diseases like Alzheimer’s. For people struggling with AUD, options such as alcohol addiction treatment online can make help easier to reach. That may lower these risks early.
Frequently asked questions
Does alcohol make Alzheimer’s worse?
A study in the journal eNeuro suggests it can. Researchers found many of the same genes and pathways out of balance in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s and people with alcohol use disorder. That overlap points to long-term heavy drinking speeding up Alzheimer’s, above all in people who carry certain kinds of genes.
Is heavy drinking a risk factor for Alzheimer’s?
The researchers behind this study say yes: alcohol belongs on the list of Alzheimer’s risk factors. At higher doses, alcohol damages brain cells and changes brain chemistry. Long-term heavy use, the kind seen in alcohol use disorder, may cause brain changes that cannot be undone. They still call for larger studies.
How did researchers link alcohol use disorder to Alzheimer’s?
Instead of looking at DNA, they studied RNA, which shows which genes are truly switched on inside brain cells. They studied hundreds of thousands of brain cells from 75 people at different stages of Alzheimer’s. They compared them with brain cells from 10 people without it. Alzheimer’s brains looked far more like alcohol use disorder than like healthy brains.
How common are alcohol use disorder and Alzheimer’s in the US?
Both are widespread. About 10% of US adults drink more than recommended, and about 29 million adults live with alcohol use disorder. More than 7 million adults live with Alzheimer’s, one of the top five leading causes of death in the US. That scale is why the overlap between the two matters.
Related reading
Alcohol May Suppress Pain But Increases Aggression · Why Mixing Alcohol and Phentermine Is Dangerous · 600 Genes Linked to Antisocial Behavior and Addiction
Source:
Joshi, A., Giorgi, F. M., & Sanna, P. P. (2024). Transcriptional Patterns in Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease Are Cell-Type–Specific and Partially Converge with the Effects of Alcohol Use Disorder in Humans. eNeuro, 11(10). https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0118-24.2024