Recent arguments against drinking alcohol are getting louder. A new study published in the journal Neurology reveals that heavy drinking, aka having eight or more alcoholic drinks per week, can more than double your risk of developing brain lesions. These lesions are associated with memory issues and cognitive decline—which concerningly links them to dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
As the medical community breaks down these fresh study results, here's what the study authors are saying about the findings and what you need to know to keep your drinking within a healthy boundary.
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Scientists Find Link Between Heavy Drinking and Brain Lesions
For this new study, published April 9, 2025, researchers at the American Academy of Neurology analyzed the brain autopsies of 1,781 deceased people with an average age of 75.
They organized these individuals into four different groups based on their drinking habits (which were supplied by their living family members), and defined one drink as 350 milliliters of beer, 150 ml of wine, or 45 ml of distilled spirits. These groups were:
- non-drinkers = 965 participants
- moderate drinkers, who had seven or fewer drinks per week = 319 participants
- heavy drinkers, who had eight or more drinks per week = 129 participants
- formerly heavy drinkers, who had stopped drinking eight or more drinks per week = 368 participants
- heavy and formerly heavy drinkers had higher odds of developing tau tangles, a biomarker associated with Alzheimer’s disease (41% and 31% higher odds, respectively)
- formerly heavy drinkers had a lower brain mass ratio and worse cognitive abilities
- heavy drinkers died an average of 13 years earlier than those who never drank
"We found heavy drinking is directly linked to signs of injury in the brain, and this can cause long-term effects on brain health, which may impact memory and thinking abilities. Understanding these effects is crucial for public health awareness and continuing to implement preventive measures to reduce heavy drinking."
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What You Need to Know
So, do these study results mean you should quit drinking if you want to avoid brain lesions and the potential of developing dementia or Alzheimer's?
CNN posed that question to their wellness expert who was not involved in the study: Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and adjunct associate professor at George Washington University.
Her response? First, this study does not prove a cause and effect relationship, but rather, suggests that heavy drinking and brain tissue damage and lower cognitive functioning are associated. The study authors also admit more research in this field is necessary to draw major conclusions, but there has been growing evidence that alcohol use significantly impacts the brain.
Second, Dr. Wen admitted that the current guidelines in the U.S. about how much is "healthy" to drink in a given night or week are being "hotly debated" right now.
U.S. Dietary Guidelines say adults should not exceed one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. But earlier this year, the former U.S. Surgeon General announced that any amount of alcohol is associated with a higher risk of cancer, and therefore, should be labeled as dangerous.
Overall, Dr. Wen suggests that you should evaluate your own relationship with drinking. If you're binge drinking, which the CDC defines as 4 or more drinks at a time for women and 5 or more for men, then you're putting your health at risk for several different complications.
However, if you're not binge drinking and you're in control of your habits—Dr. Wen describes this as easily abstaining during months like Dry January—then it's possible to "have a healthy relationship with alcohol," she says.
Still, studies like this do suggest that the buzz may not be worth it in the long-term.
