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the liver and the immune, card i ova s c ul
a r, and skeletal systems. ... Consequently, recent re s e a rc h
has examined some of alcohol’s medical
consequences in an effort to incre a s e
understanding and develop appro p r i a t e
and effective tre a t m e n t s . ...
Although the liver is capable of re g e ne
r a t i o n and re p a i r, seve re liver disease
can be life threatening. ... The number of
persons with alcoholic liver disease
(ALD), which ranges in severity fro m
fatty liver to end-stage cirrhosis, is cons
e rva t i vely estimated at more than 2
million. ... Rat studies confirm gre a t e r
l i ver damage in females than in males at
the same blood alcohol concentration
( B AC ) .
T h e re are three forms of ALD: fatty
l i ve r, which is usually re versible with
abstinence; alcoholic hepatitis, charact
e r i zed by persistent liver inflammation;
and cirrhosis, characterized by pro g re ss
i ve scarring of liver tissue. ...
The major problem in deve l o p i n g
n ew therapies for ALD has been a lack
of understanding of the mechanisms for
l i ver injury. ...
The Process of Inflammation
Long-term alcohol consumption has
been shown to prolong the natural
i n f l a m m a t o ry responses of the live r. ... Cytokines attract and
a c t i vate cells of the immune system, promote
scar formation, and stimulate the
p roduction of additional chemical messeng
e r s , including more cytokines. ... Sp e c i a l i ze d
immune system cells (i. ... These cytokines furt h e r
i n c rease gut permeability, perpetuating
a destru c t i ve cyc l e .
Another stimulus for exc e s s i ve
cytokine production is the generation
of re a c t i ve oxygen species (ROS), tox i c
by - p roducts of alcohol metabolism in
the live r. No r m a l l y, ROS are quickly
i n a c t i vated by antioxidants, pro t e c t i ve
Medical Consequences
of Alcohol Abuse
Studies have shown that long-term alcohol abuse produces serious, harmful effects on a variety of
the body’s organ systems. ... KE Y W O R D S: chronic AODE (effects of AOD [alcohol or
other drug] use, abuse, or dependence); alcoholic liver disorder; immune system; cardiovascular
system; bone; breast; cancer; alcoholic cardiomyopathy; heart disorder; cardiac arrhythmia
molecules such as glutathione and
v i t amins A and E. ...
Preventing Alcoholic Liver Injury
Re s e a rchers have devised several strategies
to pre vent or minimize alcoholic
l i ver damage. In experiments using rats,
alcohol-induced liver injury has been
lessened by suppressing endotox i n -
p roducing intestinal bacteria (e. ...
Experiments with a soybean extract,
p o l yenylphosphatidylcholine (PPC),
s h owed that it could pre vent fibro s i s
and cirrhosis in alcohol-fed baboons. It
also reduces the formation of scar tissue
and may possess antioxidant pro p e rt i e s
as well. ... Therapy with
S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) may
lessen the depletion of the antiox i d a n t
glutathione in liver cells. ...
Alcohol’s Effects
on the Immune System
For 200 years physicians have observe d
that exc e s s i ve alcohol consumption can
lead to increased illness and death fro m
infectious diseases. ... Findings indicate that patients
with ALD who are HCV positive have
m o re seve re liver disease and are yo u n g e r
than HCV- n e g a t i ve patients (NIAAA
1998). This increase in disease may re f l e c t
i m p a i red immune function (i. ...
Alcohol abusers may be at incre a s e d
risk compared with nonabusers for infection
with human immunodeficiency viru s
( H I V) from risky sex practices while
i n t oxicated. ...
In addition, some alcohol-re l a t e d
organ damage, as in ALD, may re s u l t
in part from immune system ove r a c t i v i t y
in which the immune system attacks the
b o d y’s own tissues (i. ...
How the Immune System Works
The body’s first line of defense against
disease is inflammation, as described
e a r l i e r. ... Cell-mediated immunity
i n vo l ves direct contact between immune
system cells and target cells (e.
Approximate Word count = 3893
Approximate Pages = 15.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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