Chronic Drinking Is Bad, But Suddenly Quitting Is Worse

Dangerous stress hormones spike when alcoholics stop, new research finds

Unwinding after work with some wine or heading out for drinks with friends is a common practice for relieving stress. It works because alcohol changes neurotransmitter levels in the brain.

But chronic drinking has been linked by a series of studies to high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can be dangerous to health. And the withdrawal that comes when alcoholics abstain from drinking has been linked to the same danger.

High concentrations of cortisol are associated with neurotoxicity, a condition that impairs memory, decision-making, attention span and learning, according to researchers from a number of institutions, including King's College London, the University of Kentucky and the University of London, who participated in the study review. Cortisol is released by the adrenal glands and by the brain during moments of high stress. It is also released during alcohol consumption.

"It's the chronic drinking that causes the neurotoxicity," researcher H.J. Little, a professor at the National Addiction Centre at King's College London, told MyHealthNewsDaily, "so chronic high levels of alcohol consumption are not good for the brain."

Neither is going from chronic drinking to abstinence, according to researcher Dr. Abi Rose, a lecturer at the University of Liverpool.

Because abstinence is a huge shock to the system, it can lead to degeneration of the brain's neurons, Rose said.

"Alcoholics who display the most-severe cognitive impairments during withdrawal are those who also have the highest cortisol levels," Rose said. "Therefore, cortisol function seems to play a significant role in continued alcohol dependence and risk of relapse."

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