Does alcohol kill brain cells ? क्या अल्कोहल मस्तिष्क की कोशिकाओं को मारता है?

 Does alcohol kill brain cells ?

Alcohol

No, usually brain cells are not killed. Alcohol does not kill brain cells but rather damages dendrites--the branched ends of nerve cells that bring message into the cell. Alcohol surely affects the brain, as we all know, causing slurred speech, clumsiness, slow reflexes, and a loss of inhibition. But alcohol doesn't destroy the brain cells to cause these problems.

Rather, alcohol dilates the channels in the cellular structure that regulates the flow of calcium. More calcium than normal flows into the cells and stimulates increased activity. Somehow this abnormal 'turning on' of activity causes a loss of the end segments but not does not kill the whole cell. Losing the end segments, however, means losing incoming messages, which disrupts brain function.

Alcohol combines with the brain's fatty acids and forms compounds called fatty-acid-ethyl esters. These compounds, in turn, change the flow of electric and chemical signals in the brain. A change in this flow alters how the brain works. A molecule of fatty-acid-ethyl ester latches onto and enters a nerve cell. Inside the cell, the compound speeds up a release of potassium ions, which inhibits the release of neurotransmitters, and that slows down communication between cells.

So, on the whole a drink doesn't kill brain cells. It damages the way brain cells communicate and the damage is largely reversible.