Excessive drinking has never done anybody any good. Regardless of gender, those who abuse their liquor are bound to suffer drinking’s side effects sooner or later. And according a study to be published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research early next year, women will be the first in line to bear the brunt of it.

Studying several brain functions of 42 participants who admitted to alcohol abuse mixed with 28 control subjects, the researchers discovered a common condition in the group: the reduction in serotonin function in their brain. Now serotonin is largely responsible for the treatment of depression as well as a person’s ability to wake up and fall asleep and based on the study’s results, women who drank heavily for four years had a 50 percent reduction in the serotonin function in their brain. Meanwhile the men who reached this level of decline had already been drinking heavily for 12 years.

"The impairment is progressing much faster in women," said Kristina Berglund, one of the authors of the study. Considering the fact that both male and female participants more or less consumed roughly 12 bottles of wine per week, Berglund and the rest of the team almost expected the damage caused by excessive drinking. What they were not prepared for was the time difference of the consequences.

"We were not surprised to find that the serotonin function was impaired in the alcohol-dependent individuals, but we were surprised to see that women were so much more vulnerable, even in the brain," she added.

Despite the huge time gap, Ulf Berggren, one of the Sahlgrenska Academy contributors to the study is certain that the level of decline in the brain is just the same. Still, more studies need to be done on the subject. There is yet to be a definite study focusing on just how the decline of serotonin function can affect heavy drinkers.

(Photo source: sxc.hu)