Excessive consumption of alcohol takes its toll in terms of brain tissue. Dr. Susan Gupta from the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital (London) fears that we are on the edge of an epidemic of softening of the brain - especially in the United Kingdom, where the binge drinking culture is now rampant. Binge drinking means chugging down as much alcohol as humanly possible, and as fast as possible, with the sole intention of getting drunk.

Alcohol consumption in the U.K. doubled between the early 1960s and 2000. If this trend continues, the researchers say, more alcohol will be consumed in the United Kingdom than anywhere else in Europe. Excessive alcohol consumption is believed to be implicated in about one in four instances of Alzheimer’s disease.

The researchers say that, given the neurotoxic effect of alcohol and the steady increase of per-capita consumption in the population, generations to come are bound to experience a considerable increase in early-onset dementia.

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