Crush his last cigarette would trigger a process beneficial for our brain and to fight against cognitive decline. Indeed, researchers at McGill University (Canada) have discovered that smoking can in the long term reduce the cerebral cortex, thus deteriorating cognitive functions such as memory, language and perception.
“Smokers should be aware that tobacco use could accelerate the thinning of the cerebral cortex and, therefore, lead to cognitive deterioration. Cortical thinning appears to persist for many years after quitting smoking, ”says Dr. Sherif Karama, assistant professor of psychiatry at McGill University and co-author of the study.
Researchers at McGill University (Canada) observed the brains of 244 men and 260 women, an average of 73 years old, smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers by MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging).
The results of the study revealed that the cerebral cortices of smokers and 73-year-old former smokers were thinner than that of non-smokers.
The researchers also found that the cortical thickness of ex-smokers partially regenerates for each year of quitting smoking. “However, this apparent regeneration process remains incomplete and seems slow,” recalls Dr Sherif Karama. “Thus, the cortex of smokers who have quit for more than 25 years remains thinned”.
“The stopping of tobacco could have slowed down the thinning of the cortex, or even allowed it to reconstitute itself. A possibility of “partial recovery” which, according to them, should constitute “a strong argument” in favor of stopping smoking, “explains Dr Sherif Karama.
Tobacco in France, alarming figures
In France, the consumption of tobacco, which had declined from the 1970s, has increased since 2005, especially among women and in disadvantaged socio-economic classes, reaching nearly 34% of adults according to the National Institute for Health Watch. Cigarettes kill 200 times a day in France and lose between 10 and 15 years of life without health problems for each smoker.
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