title: Heavy alcohol consumption and neuropathological lesions: a post-mortem human study.
abstract: Epidemiological studies have indicated that excessive alcohol consumption leads to cognitive impairment, but the specific pathological mechanism involved remains unknown. The present study evaluated the association between heavy alcohol intake and the neuropathological hallmark lesions of the three most common neurodegenerative disorders, i.e., Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and vascular cognitive impairment (VCI), in post-mortem human brains. The study cohort was sampled from the subjects who underwent a medicolegal autopsy during a 6-month period in 1999 and it included 54 heavy alcohol consumers and 54 age- and gender-matched control subjects. Immunohistochemical methodology was used to visualize the aggregation of beta-amyloid, hyperphosphorylated tau, and alpha-synuclein and the extent of infarcts. In the present study, no statistically significant influence was observed for alcohol consumption on the extent of neuropathological lesions encountered in the three most common degenerative disorders. Our results indicate that alcohol-related dementia differs from VCI, AD, and DLB; i.e., it has a different etiology and pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine, Unit of Neurology, Kuopio University, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Leena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aho
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Karkola
authors.forename: Jari
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Juusela
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Alafuzoff
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020268:Alcohol-Induced Disorders, Nervous System / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D001344:Autopsy; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000009:adverse effects; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology*; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000378:metabolism; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D015415:Biomarkers; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D051844:alpha-Synuclein; D016875:tau Proteins; D000431:Ethanol