A generation young of drinkers are ADDLING their brains with booze and suffering dementia in early as their twenties, an NHS doctor is warning.
Young adults are showing brain damage and mental disorders - earlier than ever before - caused by the effects of alcohol, according to Dr Steve Hood.
Dr Hood, a consultant at a Liverpool NHS hospital, is worried that young people are being diagnosed with alcohol-related illnesses, previously associated with older alcoholics.
According to Dr Hood the disturbing trend is due to the rise in the number who start regular boozing sessions as children and continue excess drinking as adults.
Consultant gastroenterologist at Aintree University Hospital, Dr Hood said cases of neuropathy - damage to brain tissue - are becoming disturbingly common among patients in their 20s and 30s.
He said: "Neuropathy causes damage to nerves that control the muscles in the legs and arms.
"It can lead to muscle wastage and brain conditions like dementia and psychosis.
"It manifests itself in the brain and causes short term memory loss but if the person continues to drink heavily there will be serious cumulative brain damage.
"Normally this condition develops in people who have drunk heavily for a number of years but we are now seeing similar problems in younger people.
"This type of illness was rare in younger people but the fact that kids are getting hold of cheap alcohol and drinking regularly, we are seeing more and more cases.
"Some kids grow out of the habit after their teenage years but there's a worrying number who have addictive patterns of behaviour and are damaging their bodies irrevocably."
The range of illnesses caused by excessive drinking include psychiatric diseases, heart disease, severe liver damage and cancer.
Dr Hood added: ""There is a whole generation of precocious youngsters addling their brains with alcohol.
"The condition shows how it is not just liver disease we have to worry about anymore. It is seriously affecting mental health as well.
"It is a ticking time bomb. If we do not deal with alcohol consumption we will be dealing with this mess and cleaning up the problem for the next 20 years.
"To tackle this we need leadership and vision, right from the top all the way to the bottom. From Government to local authorities and schools.
"Unfortunately in the last 20 years we have seen that culture has changed and the surge in binge drinking is becoming a cultural pattern in itself.
"Alcohol costs less and is more available than ever, which is a dreadful problem as those who drink heavily just don't know when to stop.
"It doesn't work to just tell people to drink responsibly.
"What does that mean when you are selling hardcore chemical ciders at such low prices?
"The message is clear but half-hearted as drinking can turn ugly very quickly."
University Hospital Aintree has the highest level of admissions for “alcohol related harm” in England, reflecting two of the major areas it takes patients from, Liverpool and Knowsley.
However, the problem is one which affects most hospitals in the North West - regionally, overall alcohol related admissions have risen from 92,000 in 2002/03 to 160,000 in 2007/08.
Dr Hood said: "The North West, in all honestly, is a train wreck with regards to alcohol related admissions, especially when you think that they have nearly doubled over the last decade."
*Dr Steve Hood was speaking out ahead of a regional alcohol summit he has arranged for Friday, 18th June.
The event was organised to spotlight the pressure which alcohol abuse is creating on the NHS, and other services, and to establish agreement on a strategic approach across Merseyside and Cheshire.
More than 100 attendees from hospitals, community NHS services, ambulance services, the police, drug teams and other agencies are set to take part.
Dr Peter Couch, Benidoleig Spain around 2 months, 2 weeks ago