Alcohol-induced damage in the brain continues for few weeks after the consumption of alcohol has stopped, according to a study.
Although the harmful effects of alcohol on the brain are widely known, the structural changes observed are very heterogeneous, said researchers from the Central Institute of Mental Health of Mannheim, in Germany.
Diagnostic markers are lacking to characterise brain damage induced by alcohol, especially at the beginning of abstinence, a critical period due to the high rate of relapse that it presents.
Now, researchers have detected, by means of magnetic resonance, how the damage in the brain continues during the first weeks of abstinence, although the consumption of alcohol ceases.