13 Nov Alcohol Use Disorder: Stanford Study Documents Brain Recovery With Abstinence
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Prof. Durazzo
Timothy C. Durazzo, PhD
Clinical Neuropsychologist and Research Scientist
Mental Illness Research and Education Clinical Centers
VA Palo Alto Health Care System
Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Stanford University School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
-There are a limited number of studies investigating changes in human brain structure, in individuals with an alcohol use disorder, with longer term abstinence after treatment.
-Our study was the first to assess for change in cortical thickness over approximately 7 months of abstinence in those seeking treatment of alcohol use disorder.
-Cortical thickness in humans is genetically and phenotypically distinct from other brain structural measures such as cortical volume and surface area.
-Therefore, assessment of changes in cortical thickness with longer-term abstinence provides additional information on how human brain structure recovers with sobriety.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
–Sustained abstinence over approximately 7 months was associated with significant recovery in 74% (25 of 34) of the cortical regions measured in the individuals with an alcohol use disorder.
-In the regions that showed significant recovery over about 7 months, approximately 56% showed the most rapid improvement in the first 4-5 weeks of abstinence.
-The cortical thinning we observed in the group with an alcohol use disorder at treatment entry, compared to the health control group, was not only due to the effects of alcohol consumption alone.
-In a previous study (Durazzo TC, Nguyen LC, Meyerhoff DJ. Medical Conditions Linked to Atherosclerosis Are Associated With Magnified Cortical Thinning in Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorders. Alcohol Alcohol. 2020 Jun 25;55(4):382-390. doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agaa034.), we found that individuals with an alcohol use disorder with co-occurring conditions of hypertension (high blood pressure), type 2 diabetes, cigarette smoking, which promote arteriosclerosis (plaque buildup in arteries), had thinner cortex than those with an alcohol use disorder that did not have these conditions.
-In the current study, individuals with an alcohol use disorder and co-occurring conditions that promote arteriosclerosis, including hypertension, hyperlipidemia (high blood cholesterol, triglycerides, etc) and type 2 diabetes, did not show as much recovery in several regions, compared to those with an alcohol use disorder that did not have these co-occurring conditions. Additionally, smokers who consumed more cigarettes over their lifetime showed reduced thickness recovery in 11 of 34 regions assessed.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a results of this study?
Response: Larger longitudinal studies are necessary to examine the relationships between cognitive and quality of life measures and cortical thickness recovery during sustained abstinence.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add? Any disclosures?
Response: Effective treatment of high blood pressure, diabetes, cigarette smoking, as well as improved nutrition, sleep and exercise may enhance short-and-long-term recovery of brain biology and other organ systems with abstinence.
The Authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Citation:
Timothy C. Durazzo, Lauren H. Stephens, Dieter J. Meyerhoff,
Regional cortical thickness recovery with extended abstinence after treatment in those with alcohol use disorder,Alcohol,2023,
ISSN 0741-8329,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcohol.2023.08.011.
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