Alcohol abuse can cause a range of health problems, from liver damage to cognitive impairment. But is the damage caused by alcohol reversible? The answer is yes, in some cases. While not all damage caused by excessive alcohol consumption is reversible, some of it can be reversed with abstinence. When people stop drinking, some of the brain damage that occurs can be reversed and part of the memory loss they experience can stop.
Scientists have claimed that alcohol causes what is known as a “contraction” in the brain, resulting in cognitive damage; however, this will begin to reverse when alcohol remains out of the body for long periods of time. The liver damage associated with mild alcoholic hepatitis is usually reversible if you stop drinking permanently. The shrinkage of any part of the brain is worrying, but the damage caused by alcohol is especially worrying, since part of that contraction is probably due to cell death. Fortunately, some of the changes in the alcoholic brain are due to cells simply changing size in the brain.
Once the alcoholic has stopped drinking, these cells return to their normal volume, demonstrating that some alcohol-related brain damage is reversible. Current diagnostic terminology states that a person who drinks alcohol excessively has an alcohol use disorder. Alcohol is considered toxic in the body, so any alcohol consumed must pass through the liver as part of the elimination process. Long-term use or abuse of alcohol has been shown to have adverse health problems; however, some of the effects of alcohol can be reversed, this is only possible if the person remains sober after recovery. Although most studies suggest that alcohol induces bone loss, epidemiological studies indicate that higher bone mass is associated with moderate alcohol consumption in postmenopausal women.
Less commonly, alcoholic hepatitis can occur if you drink a large amount of alcohol over a short period of time (excessive alcohol consumption). Chronic alcohol consumption also damages and erodes the mucosa of the upper gastrointestinal tract, which is found with undiluted alcoholic beverages, causing bleeding lesions and increasing the risk of developing cancer. Chronic alcohol intake tends to increase left ventricular mass and dilation leading to heart failure in a rat model of alcohol administration. After a four-day experiment in which rats were given alcohol, leading to alcohol dependence, they stopped giving alcohol to rats. Scientists have established that the contraction that alcohol can cause in some regions of the brain and that causes cognitive damage will begin to reverse when alcohol remains out of the body for long periods of time. In particular, the elimination of alcohol and feedback with the control diet normalize serum levels of NEFA, indicating that abandoning alcohol delays hepatic absorption of circulating fatty acids and attenuates adipose lipolysis to alleviate alcohol-induced hepatic steatosis in the liver.
The results support the idea that the decrease in plasma osteocalcin with chronic alcohol consumption is reversible within 3 weeks after the elimination of alcohol. The main and most effective enzyme from the catalytic point of view is alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), which catalyzes the formation of acetaldehyde from alcohol. In the short term, treatment can quickly help address other effects of alcohol on the brain, such as alcohol-related mental confusion. People must be aware of their diet, exercise, sleep and stress management to experience their full potential for recovery. For those in recovery who have embraced sobriety, it's natural to worry about potential lasting consequences. However, not all damage caused by excessive alcohol consumption lasts forever.
In some cases, it is possible to reverse the effects of alcohol by abstaining from it. This is not true in all cases, so the sooner abstinence becomes a reality, the better. Usually, any reversion of damage occurs quickly in the first few months to the first year of abstinence and then slows down after that period. Cardiovascular problems caused by alcohol abuse may not be completely resolved, but like other factors of neurological damage, some may be reversible. Again, the changes usually occur within the first year, after abstaining, and then slow down.
