A tiny tipple could stave off dementia

Moderate drinking - a glass of wine, or a pint of beer a day - could cut dementia risk by almost a third. Researchers from the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim in Germany studied 3,200 people over three years. The participants were all over 75 at the start of the study and none of them had symptoms of dementia, although 217 developed the condition as the study went on. Those participants who drank between two or three units of alchohol a day were 29% less likely to develop dementia than those who were teetotal. However, drinking only protected against Alzheimer's disease not vascular dementia or cognitive decline and prolonged heavy drinking is associated with about one in 10 cases of dementia.