Alcohol is one of the most risky factors in health damage and premature death. Excessive and long-term alcohol consumption can lead to impairment of brain function and structure. In up to 75 % of alcohol addicts there is some degree of brain pathology. There are many ways in which alcohol affects cognitive functions and can combine differently. Alcoholic dementia is often poorly identified and is therefore considered a quiet epidemic of the 21st century. It’s clearly among the most common secondary dementias, and is responsible for up to 10 % of all dementias and is potentially reversible with early and proper treatment. The presented work focuses primarily on “primary” alcoholic dementia, i.e. dementia caused (exclusively) by the direct neurotoxic effect of alcohol.

Key words: alcohol – alcoholic dementia – brain damage – reversibility