Alcoholics who smoke appear to lose more brain mass than alcoholics who don't smoke, according to a study at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
It is already well-known that the brains of long-term alcoholics atrophy and shrink, the study authors say, but the new findings are the first evidence that cigarette smoking might contribute to that atrophy, particularly in grey matter of the parietal and temporal lobes.
Fifty to 90 percent of alcoholics also are smokers, according to Dieter Meyerhoff, PhD, a radiology researcher at SFVAMC and the principal investigator of the study.
Link.
