Alcohol FAQ’s

1. Alcohol FAQ’s

2. How many brain cells are killed per beer? • Alcohol usually does not kill brain cells • rather damages dendrites--the branched ends of nerve cells that bring messages into the cell. Roberta J. Pentney, professor of anatomy and cell biology at the University at Buffalo • it inhibits the release of neurotransmitters, and that slows down communication between cells . Richard Gross, professor of medicine, chemistry, and molecular biology and pharmacology at Washington University in St. Louis

3. Usually brain cells are not killed, but… • Researchers reported that the animals forced onto an alcoholic binge experienced significant death of brain cells within two days Journal ofAlcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research • The damage is largely reversible.

4. Why do people get hangovers? • Acetaldehyde is created when the alcohol in the liver is broken down by an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase. The acetaldehyde is then attacked by another enzyme, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, and another substance called glutathione • When concentrations of alcohol are high, acetaldehyde builds up, causing hangovers.

5. Are the effects of alcohol the same for men and women? • Women absorb and metabolize alcohol differently than men. In general, women have less body water than men of similar body weight, so that women achieve higher concentrations of alcohol in the blood after drinking equivalent amounts of alcohol National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism • Women have less acetaldehyde dehydrogenase and glutathione, making their hangovers worse because it takes longer for the body to break down the alcohol.

6. Why does alcohol damage your liver? • When alcohol is present, the liver cells are forced to first metabolize the alcohol, letting the fatty acids accumulate, sometimes in huge amounts.  Alcohol metabolism permanently changes liver cell structure, which impairs the liver?s ability to metabolize fats.  This explains why heavy drinkers tend to develop fatty livers.

7. The liver is able to metabolize about ½ ounce of ethanol per hour (approximately one drink, depending on a person’s body size, food intake, etc.)

8. Why does alcohol make you throw up? • Alcohol or more strictly Ethanol is toxic.  The body tries to remove poisons by vomiting.

9. T/F • “All college students drink, and when they do they usually get wasted.” • F – Only about 30% of college students (less than a third) drink to get drunk, meaning that if you drink to get drunk, you’re in the minority, not the majority.

10. “It’s a good sign to be throwing up at the end of the night, ‘cause it gets out the alcohol.” • F- Unless you take a drink and then immediately vomit it right back up, what you are puking at the end of the night is primarily NOT the alcohol in your system; it’s everything else that was in the glass or in your stomach.

11. “It’s normal to pass out from drinking.” F- Most people don’t pass out from drinking.  Passing out is a VERY bad sign, and actually is an indication that it’s a medical emergency.  • Passing out is not the same as “sleeping.”

12. “Someone has alcohol poisoning if they are throwing up blood and twitching on the floor with their eyes rolling back into their head.” • F- Remember:  alcohol is a depressant, which slows down the body functions as it soaks into the various regions of the brain.  Typically, a person who has alcohol poisoning looks like the following, and requires immediate medical attention: • Slow heart rate • Cold, clammy skin • Unresponsive to people’s attempts to wake them up • Vomiting while unconscious

13. It is best to turn an intoxicated person onto their side to prevent them from “puking and choking in their sleep. ” • T … But, leaving a person unattended when they are in this condition is extremely dangerous.