Preliminary studies on the long-term effects of alcohol on mental awareness and the brain suggest that moderate alcohol intake may reduce incidence of the neurological disease Alzheimer’s, or AD.

But for some individuals, say medical researchers, health risks related to alcohol consumption may outweigh benefits.

Playing the piano is a love Joni Bosky inherited from her father. She also inherited a higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

“You lose someone a moment at a time, a day at a time, and that’s very, very difficult,” says Bosky.

When her father began wandering the neighborhood without full awareness of his safety, Bosky was forced to place him in a full-time care facility. “That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

For Bosky, research must continue full speed ahead to stop the disease that brings so much pain to families and which contributed to her father’s death a decade ago.

If initial findings from a Boston University School of Medicine study on the effects of alcohol hold up over time, people might find some protection against Alzheimer’s in the form of a drink, whether wine, whiskey, or beer.

“It would be premature to recommend this as a prophylaxis until the protective mechanism is fully understood,” says senior author Lindsay Farrer, PhD, chief of the genetics program at BU’s medical school.

A standard drink is considered to be one 12-ounce bottle of beer or wine cooler, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.

It will take years before alcohol’s effects on Alzheimer’s is fully known, reports The Salk Institute’s David Schubert, PhD. “The Alzheimer’s link is still, I would say, somewhat in the preliminary stage,” he says. “The evidence is very good for the two big papers that have been published on it.”

Regular, moderate drinkers cut their risk of Alzheimer’s in half, compared to non-drinkers, findings show so far.

For most men, moderate drinking translates into two drinks a day. For most women, it’s one drink.

Schubert, who teaches and researches neuroscience and biology, is currently studying the effects of stroke and brain cell death and the onset of Alzheimer’s. His La Jolla, California-based team is interested in compounds that block cell death. One compound found to be effective in preventing cell demise is similar to a compound in red wine.

“It’s not surprising that you see this effect,” he says, noting that, in order for the brain to function, it needs a good supply of oxygen-rich blood.

“I think you’re treading on difficult water when you try to recommend that people start drinking alcohol,” says Schubert, who views the matter as a complicated one, best left for discussion between patient and doctor.

A study of almost 4,000 wine drinkers in France shows similar results. Drinkers there suffer less dementia than non-drinkers do, data shows.

Scientists don’t really know how alcohol affects dementia, but it may be related to alcohol’s beneficial effects on heart and blood vessels. “Cardiovascular problems lead to increased probability of getting Alzheimer’s disease,” Schubert says. “The only one you can do much about is the cardiovascular aspect.”

In another study, examining cognition and drinking among 3,500 middle-aged men in Hawaii, moderate drinkers performed better on mental tests by the time they reached their senior years.

Schubert says, presently, there is no clear cut way to slow Alzheimer’s progression with treatment, though drugs currently in clinical trials appear promising to curb AD wasting, but not reverse cell death.

Early detection will be key. Experts hope the latest scanning technology will prove effective in the fight.

Schubert says preliminary studies on the effects of Vitamin E and other antioxidants are promising.

Drinking alcohol for potential therapeutic benefits must be balanced with the reality that alcohol is known to play a role in causing or contributing to liver disease, birth defects, depression, and some types of cancer, among other illnesses.

“A couple glasses is probably a reasonable approach–not a whole bottle,” says Schubert.

In many years, when much more is known about alcohol, its risks may outweigh its benefits for most.

“Moderation is the way to deal with it,” says Schubert. “Obviously if you drink too much, you have a serious problem.”

Bosky, who eats well, takes vitamins, and exercises, won’t make any changes in her lifestyle just because of the findings. “My favorite drink is still water,” she says.

Bosky thinks alcohol’s negative threats outweigh potential benefits. She’s nearly a teetotaler, having only a few glasses of wine a year. “If we just go off in every direction that comes along, then we can do more harm to ourselves than good,” she says.

She isn’t afraid she’ll develop Alzheimer’s, but is aware of the possibility. “[Let’s go] forward with any research we can, because we do want to find a cure,” she says.