Alcohol ‘delays dementia’

A glass of wine a day could help to delay dementia in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a new study claims.

MCI is a transitional phase between normal ageing and dementia and is evident from mild memory or cognitive problems and no significant disability.

Researchers analysed the link between MCI and alcohol consumption in 1,445 people. They then followed 121 people with the condition and their progression to dementia.

The scientists found that people with MCI who had one drink of alcohol a day, mostly wine, developed dementia at an 85 per cent slower rate than people with mild cognitive impairment who never drank alcohol.

Higher levels of drinking were not found to have a beneficial effect on dementia progression.

All the participants were aged between 65 and 84 and were part of the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging. They were followed for three and a half years.

Dr Vincenzo Solfrizzi and Dr Francesco Panza of the Department of Geriatrics at the University of Bari, Italy, said the study was the first to assess the link between MGI, alcohol and dementia progression.

“The mechanism responsible for why low alcohol consumption appears to protect against the progression to dementia isn’t known,” they said.

“However, it is possible that the arrangement of blood vessels in the brain may play a role in why alcohol consumption appears to protect against dementia. This would support other observations that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol may protect the brain from stroke and vascular dementia.”

The findings are presented in Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.