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Alcohol and APOE

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 3:17 pm
by dlerner
Recently read an article that Drinking any amount of alcohol may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s in APOE4 carriers
Was wondering what the latest thoughts were on this.

Re: Alcohol and APOE

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 5:17 pm
by slacker
Our wiki chapter on alcohol was last updated 2/2018. You may still find it of use.

Re: Alcohol and APOE

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 5:26 pm
by anotherdreamer
I recently listened to a podcast with Peter Attia saying how even small amounts of alcohol disrupts the sleep cycle. Considering how important sleeping is to clean out the brain, I'd be nervous.

Re: Alcohol and APOE

Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 11:54 am
by circular
dlerner wrote:Recently read an article that Drinking any amount of alcohol may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s in APOE4 carriers
Was wondering what the latest thoughts were on this.
I don't have any definitive answers for you, and I'm lucky not to enjoy alcoholic drinks at all to the degree that I miss them from eliminating them. Yesterday I was reading about homocysteine for another reason, and it kept coming up that there's a link between alcohol intake and higher homocysteine, something we don't want.

Here's one paper [RC Crossover, n=78 men, 1 cup red wine) and its conclusion:
The increase in tHcy observed in both interventions did not vary by MTHFR 677C>T genotype.

Conclusions: A 2-week alcohol intervention resulted in a decrease in folate and vitamin B12 status and an increase in plasma tHcy. The effect of alcohol intervention on tHcy, folate and vitamin B12 concentrations did not differ between the red wine and vodka intervention groups.
If you look at the tables the increase in homocysteine looks tiny, but the trial was only two weeks. As a lifestyle, just one cup a day might have a bigger adverse impact on homocysteine. That said, supposedly the same people eating a Mediterranean diet drink a fair amount of red wine and have low incidence of cardiovascular disease. Presumably their diet is providing what they need to counteract a possible influence of alcohol on homocysteine levels.

Rather than parse out the details on this topic, I just find it easier to stay away, since any potential benefits in my book aren't needed to be healthy.