Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com
Today, let's talk about wine. The danger of large doses of strong alcohol probably no one is in doubt, but to drink a glass of wine is often a desire. For such wine lovers as balsam per capita a new study of American scientists from the University of Rochester (University of Rochester).
Their experiments show that the opinion that a small amount of alcohol "cleanses the brains" is not just not contrary to physiology, but, conversely, is true up to the letter. The results of the work were published in the scientific journal "Scientific Reports" of the media giant Nature. The main conclusion of the article is that the use of alcohol in small doses reduces the level of inflammatory processes in the brain and cleans it of toxins, and it helps fight Alzheimer's.
Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, co-chair of the Center for Neuromedicine at the University of Rochester, and the lead author of the study, emphasize that excessive consumption of large amounts of alcohol adversely affects the central nervous system of any animal, but as he and his colleagues found out for the first time, small doses may potentially be useful for the health of our brains. And the main benefit of alcohol is the improvement of the function of removing harmful substances.This study is not the first, where there are positive aspects of drinking, health benefits from low-dose alcohol have been proven earlier in terms of strengthening the cardiovascular system and reducing the risk of certain cancers.But at the same time, all scientists are stipulated: at high doses the situation will change dramatically and alcoholism is deadly to health, therefore it is not worth every such mention of pluses to be considered as a self-justification for those who abuse alcohol.
The Nedergaart team's experiments focused on the glyph- matic system, a unique brain purification process that was first discovered only five years ago by the same scientists. They then showed in mice how the cerebrospinal fluid is pumped into the brain tissue and removes toxins such as beta amyloids and tau proteins, the excess of which is associated with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.Further studies have revealed the presence of a glyph- matic system in other mammals, including humans. The process is started during a slow phase of sleep, its violation occurs in the course of strokes and injuries, and improves with the help of physical exercises.The team continued the experiments with the glyphatic system in mice and they decided to find out how alcohol affects brain purification function. Various concentrations of ethanol in the animals were tested, and the following conclusions were obtained.
Large doses
If mice were exposed to large doses of alcohol for a long time, the researchers observed high levels of molecular markers of inflammatory processes, especially in brain cells called astrocytes - they serve as key regulators of the glyph- matic system. Along with this, there was a dysfunction of the cognitive (cognitive) abilities and motor (motor) skills of the animal.
Low doses
Animals with a low level of alcohol consumption (when translated into "human language" is 75 grams of vodka, 2 glasses of wine or a mug of beer per day) showed less inflammation in the brain, and their glyph- matic system was more effective even with respect to the control group that alcohol did not use.The cerebrospinal fluid circulated better and removed toxins, (possibly because the amount of these toxins increased with the ingestion of alcohol, and thus the self-cleaning process was started with great force). The indices of animals in cognitive and motor tests were identical to their "sober" brethren.
Data on the effect of alcohol on the glyph- matic system correspond to the J-shaped model of the dependence of alcohol consumption and the overall health and mortality of the population, although there are strong arguments against this. Disputes are about whether there is a negative connection with a complete rejection of alcohol or not.
In any case, Nedergaard's new study showed with confidence that small doses of alcohol reduce the risk of developing dementia and improve the overall health of the brain due to the effective operation of the glyph- matic system. It turns out that alcohol literally clears our brains. All we go for wine !!!