Adding vitamin B to alcohol protects brain

New research from the University of Melbourne supports proposals that vitamin B1 be added to alcoholic beverages to counter the incidence of alcohol-related brain injury.

Clinical neuropsychologist, Dr Maggie Ambrose, says that the addition of vitamin B1 would be an extremely cost-effective preventative measure. For instance, enough B1 for almost 6000 bottles of beer would cost just 20 cents.

Dr Ambrose believes it has important implications for issues of primary prevention and management of alcohol-related brain injury, which is a multi-million dollar cost to the community.

The research also supports moves to treat all people detoxifying from alcohol with intramuscular vitamin B1.

Dr Ambrose says introduction of such preventive measures could have significant potential financial advantages to the health system.

Item provided courtesy of University Melbourne media department.