Alcohol Related Brain Injury

What is Alcohol Related Brain Damage

Excessive drinking over the years may lead to a condition known as Alcohol-Related Brain Damage. This condition can cause problems with memory, learning and other cognitive skills.

Alcohol abuse can directly affect brain cells, resulting in poor judgment, difficulty with making choices and lack of understanding. Nutrition problems that frequently accompany long-term alcohol misuse and consumption can be another contributing variable, since lack of vitamins may harm parts of the brain.

The list of warning signs that may indicate that an individual has early signs of alcohol dementia include the following:

Cognitive and memory problems, such as:

  • Confusion about time and place
  • Impaired attention and concentration
  • Difficulty in processing new information both verbal and visual
  • Inability to screen out irrelevant information
  • Confabulation used to fill gaps in context and memory creating inaccurate accounts of recent or past events
  • Loss of spontaneity motivation and initiative
  • Apathy depression and irritability

Physical problems such as:

  • Poor balance and ataxia – which may or may not improve

  • Damage to gastric system liver and pancreas

  • Traumatic brain injury that causes additional harm

  • Peripheral neuropathy – nerve damage that causes weakness, numbness and pain, usually in hands and feet.

  • Visual disturbance – nystagmus

If the condition is not managed, the subsequent impact may mean the individual will proceed to develop Wernicke Encelopathy or Korsakoffs Syndrome. Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome is commonly developed because of the lack of healthy nutrition caused by heavy drinking over time. However, it is also possible to develop Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome via other causes.