Researchers found evidence linking heavy alcohol drinking to brain damage and early death

New research says long-term alcohol use and brain lesions linked to cognitive decline.

Heavy drinking strongly associated with hyaline arteriolosclerosis.

Former heavy drinkers were more likely to show tau tangles in the brain.

They also tended to have smaller brains and scored lower on cognitive tests.

Heavy drinkers had an average lifespan 13 years shorter than those who never drank.