The heroes of our time are those who have managed to overcome their alcohol dependence and radically change their lifestyle. But the question arises: can the body fully recover after many years of alcohol abuse? It turns out that this is possible, and it is now known how much time will be needed for this.
There is an opinion that the greatest damage from alcohol is inflicted on the liver: ethanol destroys the cells of this organ, leading to impaired functions and the development of inflammatory and necrotic processes. However, in reality, the brain suffers even more! Regular alcohol consumption leads to the death of neurons (this occurs due to the formation of necrotic areas and local hemorrhages), which, in turn, causes a decline in cognitive functions.
Restoring the brain after prolonged alcohol use is quite difficult: previous studies have shown that even after six weeks of abstinence, alcoholics still exhibit degenerative changes in the white matter of the brain. So how much time is needed for recovery? Scientists from the USA have determined that it will take at least 7.3 months to restore the cerebral cortex.
Study
The study involved 88 individuals with alcohol dependence and 45 individuals from the control group. Specialists used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to analyze the brains of the volunteers and measured the thickness of their cerebral cortex over a period of approximately nine months.
Of the 88 participants, only 40 were able to abstain from alcohol throughout the study period.
The researchers analyzed 34 areas of the respondents' brains, and significant improvements were recorded in 25 of them. This indicates that the brain is capable of restoring its structure provided that alcohol is avoided, but this will require at least six months.
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