HEALTH
REPORT-Alcohol and Stroke
By Nancy Steinbach
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
Alcohol is a part of holiday celebrations for many
people. Some studies have shown that alcohol may be good for people's
hearts. But this holiday season, a newly published study says moderate
drinkers may reduce the size of their brain. The study of middle-aged
people also disputes findings that moderate alcohol use can protect
against stroke.
Johns Hopkins University researchers in Baltimore,
Maryland, did the study. They reported their work in Stroke: The Journal
of the American Heart Association. They studied almost two-thousand
men and women over the age of fifty-five who lived in the American South.
The researchers used information collected in a heart study between
nineteen-eighty-seven and nineteen-eighty-nine. The people were also
asked about their health every three years until nineteen-ninety-five.
Each person had a magnetic
resonance imaging test（核磁共振影像测试）of the head. This MRI test can
show changes in the brain that are linked to an increased chance of
a stroke. It also measures the amount of liquid that surrounds the brain.
The greater the amount of liquid, the smaller the brain.
Each person also provided information about how much
alcohol he or she drank each week. Those who drank less than once a
week were called "occasional" drinkers. "Low" drinkers
had between one and seven alcoholic drinks a week. "Moderate"
drinkers had between seven and fourteen. And "heavy" drinkers
had twenty-five or more.
The researchers found that brain size became smaller
the more people drank. They also found that drinking alcohol did not
lower the chance of stroke. Earlier studies linked heavy drinking with
reduced brain size and with stroke. But other studies had suggested
that moderate drinking could protect against stroke.
Jingzhong Ding led the new study. He notes that the
MRI tests were done only once, and the reduction found in brain tissue
was small. He also says it is not known how much this reduction affects
the abilities of the brain.
What is known is that people who drink too much can
die of liver disease and other disorders. Pregnant women who use alcohol
may also damage their unborn child. And alcohol is a leading cause of
deadly traffic accidents.
This VOA Special English Health Report was written
by Nancy Steinbach.
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