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研究：少量饮酒预防老年痴呆症 A drink a day may slow mental decline to dementia [ 2007-05-23 09:07 ] In older people with mild cognitiveimpairment, having a drink now and then -- up to an average of one drinkof alcohol each day -- may delay progression to dementia, new research suggests. "While many studies have assessed alcoholconsumption and cognitive function in the elderly, this isthe first study to look at how alcohol consumption affects the rate ofprogression of mild cognitive impairment to dementia," study authors Dr.Vincenzo Solfrizzi and Dr. Francesco Panza, from the University of Bari inItaly, said in a statement.In the study, reported in the medical journal Neurology, theresearchers assessed the occurrence of mild cognitive impairment in 1445subjects and the progression to dementia in 121 patients with mildcognitive impairment.The participants were between 65 and 84 years of age at the start ofthe study, and they were followed for 3.5 years. Alcohol use was assessedbefore the survey.Drinking was not associated the development of mild cognitiveimpairment, according to the report. However, once mild impairmentoccurred, subjects who had up to one drink per day of alcohol had an 85percent reduced risk of dementia compared with those who abstained.The benefit was seen with both alcohol in general and with wine inparticular.Having more than one drink a day, however, offered no protectionagainst dementia compared with abstaining, the report indicates."The mechanism responsible for why low alcohol consumption appears toprotect against the progression to dementia isn't known. However, it ispossible that the arrangement of blood vessels in the brain may play arole," Solfrizzi and Panza conclude. | 
