Page 108 - The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss and Enhance Memory Power

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“Does she drink alone? Or with you?” I asked.

“Oh, I have a coupla beers in the evening. Just to keep her company. Never more than a coupla
beers. That's about it.”

“I'd like to switch gears for a moment, Mr. O'Brien. You know the line about children doing what
their parents do and not what their parents say?”

Sean O'Brien nodded with a quiet chuckle. “You're sayin' I've gotta stop first, right?”

‘‘Exactly.”

True to his word, he stopped drinking altogether. He also brought in a reinforcement; his oldest
daughter joined the prohibition campaign against her mother. To my pleasant surprise, at her next
visit Mary told me that she had cut back to two drinks a day. Sean confirmed that she had indeed
reduced her alcohol intake. Eventually, she was able to stay off alcohol completely. Over time, her
short-term memory gradually began to get better. During the following year, her memory showed
modest further improvement, and during the next five years she maintained this performance level on
tests of memory. Significant improvement in memory is virtually unknown in Alzheimer's disease,
particularly over a prolonged period of time, while partial recovery after the patient stops drinking is
typical of Korsakoff-type alcohol-brain syndrome. I was finally certain about the accuracy of my
diagnosis.

Alcohol-Induced Brain Damage: A Clinical Chameleon

Mary O'Brien illustrates that steady, moderate- to high-volume alcohol consumption can affect your
memory. But why some people are more vulnerable than others remains a bit of a mystery. Genetic
factors can play an important role; people from a few Native American tribes are so genetically
sensitive to alcohol that they can lose control and become violent after only one or two drinks.
Clearly, psychological and social influences are also important.

More puzzling is alcohol's range of effects within the brain. Some people blithely consume vast
quantities with no problems at all, some develop memory loss, others develop tremor and poor
coordination because of damage to the cerebellum— a walnut-shaped structure in the lower, back part
of the brain— and still others experience hallucinations. Research has taught us a great deal about the
complex actions of alcohol at the molecular level, but we still don't know why