A National Directory of Drug Treatment Centers and Alcohol Treatment Centers, Therapists and Specialists. A free, simple directory providing assistance and guidance for those seeking help regarding alcohol addiction, drug addiction, dependency and many other conditions that affect the mind, body and soul.
Call
888-647-0579
to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.
Alcoholic beverages contain ethanol, which is mostly converted into acetaldehyde. The Rochester team found that binge drinking-related levels of acetaldehyde make immune cells called monocyctes more likely to stick to blood vessel walls and cause inflammation that contributes to blood vessel blockage — atherosclerosis.
The study contributes to a growing body of evidence that drinking patterns have as much, or more, impact on cardiovascular disease risk than the total amount of alcohol consumed. The findings also may help efforts to develop new treatments to counter atherosclerosis, which can lead to heart attack and stroke, the researchers said.
“Factors like binge drinking have been linked to increased risk for heart disease, and the newer inflammatory model is beginning to explain how,” study leader John Cullen, an assistant professor in the department of surgery, said in a medical center news release. “One of our experiments found that acetaldehyde, at levels found in the blood after binge drinking, increased the number of monocytes that can adhere to cells lining blood vessels by 700 percent.”
The study was published in the current issue of the journal Atherosclerosis.
Binge drinking means having five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women in two hours, according to the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Some studies have suggested that an irregular pattern of heavy drinking increases the risk of heart attack about two-fold.
An estimated 65 percent of Americans drink alcohol, and 15 percent reporting binge patterns, the researchers said.
I had an interesting Blog Comment from Pavel Nepustil, a Czech republic NGO worker and PhD student, currently in Houston, USA, on a Fullbright Scholarship. Pavel came over to see us in Cardiff last year and we decided we would work together. He is one bright ‘cookie’ and very dedicated to this field. He got….
Alcoholism is a thinking disease. It sneaks up and gets you where you’re weakest. It waits. It does push-ups while you’re sleeping. It’s smarter than you. Identifying alco-thought is like trying to put your finger on mercury. I was talking to a gentleman recently who has had repeated problems with his drinking. He was on….
Some people drink to forget, but scientists have found that anyone who binge drinks is more likely to forget only the worst experiences of being drunk – which is why alcohol is such an addictive drug. Alcohol has been found to affect memory in a selective manner. Drinking makes it easier to remember the good….
Bi-polar is generally a cyclic disease where individuals display depressive and elevated episodes at regular intervals. It is a disorder resulting from the imbalance of the chemicals in the brain that causes a lot of fluctuations of mood. It is a fact that we all experience happy and sad moods, but people with bi-polar disorder….
A year ago, a booze-fueled spring break trip was all the news when two Portland State University basketball players got into a drunken brawl in Mexico. That donnybrook drew lots of attention because athletes were involved. But it was otherwise unremarkable: Studies show that, while students don’t necessarily drink more on spring break, those who….