Week 5: Alcohol Flashcards

1
Q

What do we mean by alcohol?

A

The term describes a wide range of substances, only a few of which are consumed;
1. isopropyl alcohol - rubbing alcohol
2. methanol - wood alcohol - would make you go blind
3. ethanol - drinking alcohol

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2
Q

What are the 2 methods for making alcohol

A
  1. Fermentation - sugar + yeast = 15-20% alcohol + co2
  2. Distillation - boiling off the impurities of alcohol - to get 40-50% alcohol by volume
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3
Q

Origin and History of Alcohol

A
  • has probably been part of the human diet for millions of years
  • has a high fruit content, therefore, high sugar content. Also has yeast and always has some alcohol.
  • alcohol has likely been associated throughout evolutionary history with food and nourishment

Was found nearly 9,000 years ago in china

The earliest law codes didn’t regulate fair commerce of alcohol and didn’t mention drunkenness

Egyptians, greeks, romans all drank moderately and later rome descended into insobriety

The British isles also had a long tradition of drinking. This was mostly mean, ale and cider as grapes didn’t grow well in this climate. Ditilled alcohol became popular in the 1600s (eg. whiskey) and we were faced with the gin epidemic

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4
Q

Gin Epidemic

A

Alcoholism was widespread amongst the poor in the 1700s, and the rise of the ‘gin craze’ became infamous. Gin was cheap and extremely strong, and for many people offered a quick release from the grinding misery of everyday life

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5
Q

Alcohol in the US over History

A

Colonists brought their inclinations for strong drink with them from England

Harvard Uni had a brewery and drafted rules to avoid ‘excesses, immoralities and disorders’ at commencement

workman received part of their wages in rum and employers would set aside certain days for inebriety

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6
Q

The Temperance Movement

A

After the American revolution, alcohol consumption increased until the temperence movement of the mid 1800s

This gained political traction as people realised that too much alcohol has bad implications

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7
Q

Prohibition

A

1917 - 1933
The prohibition passed as 18th amendment which outlawed alcohol
this drove a black market for alcohol with speakeasys and a lot of corrupt policing around alcohol

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8
Q

Neuropharmacology of Alcohol effects

A

Complex and involves a number of systems
alcohol intoxication occurs at concentrations 1,000 and 1,000,000 times greater than other drugs
stimulates multiple pathways at once
most effects are mediated by gaba and glut systems (but a few other transmitter too)

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9
Q

GABA effects of alcohol

A

GABAa receptors are responsible for maintaining constant inhibitory tone. Ethanol will bind to these receptors and increase the inhibitory action of GABA when it binds.

These alcohol sensitive GABAa receptors are common in the cerebellum hence the effects of alcohol on coordination - aka motor impairments

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10
Q

GLUT effects and Alcohol

A

Alcohol binds to NMDA receptors and blocks the ion channel - aka prevents excitation

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11
Q

The effects of alcohol on gaba and glutamate converge

A
  • alcohol stimulates GABA receptors which inhibit neural activity
  • alcohol also block normal functioning of glutamate (NMDA) receptors, which also inhibits neural activity
  • together these effects throw off the delicate GABA/GLUT balance that is necessary for normal functioning of the CNS
  • Prolonged blockage of NMDA receptors leads to compensatory upregulation which may be involved in alcohol withdrawal symptoms
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12
Q

Dopamine and Alcohol

A

Dopamine ass with all drugs, alochol produces its reinforcing effects through increasing dopamine activity in the mesolimbic dopamine system

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13
Q

Effects of alcohol on human behaviour and performance according to BAC (Blood alcohol level)

A

50-100 : More talkative; using a higher pitched voice; mild excitement
100-150 : Even more talkative and cheerful; often loud and boisterous : Later people become sleepy
>150: Nausea; Lethargy: Stupor
200-290 : Loss of understanding; memory blackout ; unconsciousness

There’s considerable variation between people for this and from situation to situation

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14
Q

Blackouts

A

Heavy drinking may cause periods of amnesia for events that occurred during intoxication

  1. Grayout;
    - drinker only remembers bits and pieces of events that occurred during intoxication
    - CAn recall if prompted or if they return to the location of the event
    - Indicates the problem is with retrieval, the memories stored are intact but unable to be accessed after alcohol is cleared from the system
  2. En bloc blackout
    - a rarer occurrence; drinkers remember nothing that occurred during a drinking episode
    - memories are not stores, they never return
    - behaviours may appear to be quite normal during the blackout period
    (the mechanism for this is not well understood)
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15
Q

Grayout

A
  1. Grayout;
    - drinker only remembers bits and pieces of events that occurred during intoxication
    - CAn recall if prompted or if they return to the location of the event
    - Indicates the problem is with retrieval, the memories stored are intact but unable to be accessed after alcohol is cleared from the system
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16
Q

En bloc blackout

A
  1. En bloc blackout
    - a rarer occurrence; drinkers remember nothing that occurred during a drinking episode
    - memories are not stores, they never return
    - behaviours may appear to be quite normal during the blackout period
    (the mechanism for this is not well understood)
17
Q

Effects on Driving

A

Alcohol produces severe deficits in processes involves in driving

  • these effects are likely mediated by decreased in cortical activation (and are therefore more profound in teens as they have less cortical regions to begin with as they’re still developing)
  • Greatly increases the risk of causing accidents
18
Q

Age and risks of driving accidents with alcohol

A

When you’re younger your risk of crashing a car under the influence of alcohol is even higher as your cortex isn’t fully developed

19
Q

Alcohol Withdrawal - the 4 stages

A

stage 1: 6-8 hrs after last drink (hangover vibes)
- Experience increased blood pressure, pulse;fever etc
- Exaggerated startle; headache; nausea; restlessness; easily distracted

stage 2: 2-24 to 72 hours after last drink
- worsening symptoms of stage 1
- hallucinations (visual, auditory, tacile)

stage 3; within 48 hours after last drink
- seizures (short duration tonic/clonic seizures)
More GLUT, NMDA received in membrane to compensate for when these are inhibited during drinking, so without alcohol there is too much excitatory activity

Stage 4; 48 hours to 14 days after the last drink
(stage where may need hospitalisation)
- eliverium tremens (delirium, paranoid delusions, 5% mortality rate)

20
Q

Stage 1 alcohol withdrawal

A

stage 1: 6-8 hrs after last drink (hangover vibes)
- Experience increased blood pressure, pulse;fever etc
- Exaggerated startle; headache; nausea; restlessness; easily distracted

21
Q

Stage 2 alcohol withdrawal

A

stage 2: 2-24 to 72 hours after last drink
- worsening symptoms of stage 1
- hallucinations (visual, auditory, tacile)

22
Q

Stage 3 alcohol withdrawal

A

stage 3; within 48 hours after last drink
- seizures (short duration tonic/clonic seizures)
More GLUT, NMDA received in membrane to compensate for when these are inhibited during drinking, so without alcohol there is too much excitatory activity

23
Q

Stage 4 alcohol withdrawal

A

Stage 4; 48 hours to 14 days after the last drink
(stage where may need hospitalisation)
- eliverium tremens (delirium, paranoid delusions, 5% mortality rate)

24
Q

Harmful effect of an acute administration - alcohol poisoning

A

Alcohol Poisoning
- 300-400 BAC will cause a loss of consciousness
- 500BAC usually results in death within a couple of hours
- death generally caused by respiratory failure

Vomiting or loss of consciousness will usually occur before death
- binge drinking greatly increases the likelihood of alcohol poisoning

25
Q

Harmful effect of an acute administration - Cirrhosis of the liver

A

Chronic drinking causes liver cirrhosis

26
Q

Harmful effect of an acute administration - health implications

A

Cancer - proven to increase risk of 8 types of cancer, causal in some

reproductive effects in both males and females

Fetal alcohol syndrome - caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy

Heart disease

CNS diseases
- Wernicke-korsakoff psychosis - loss of memory, inability to remember new things
- epilepsy
- cerebellar syndrome - incoordination of voluntary movements
- alcoholic dementia
- major brain atrophy - overactivity of glutamate system

27
Q

Benefits of alcohol consumption

A
  • Moderate alcohol consumption has health benefits
  • j shaped curve for mortality from a number of conditions and alcohol use
  • correlational in nature (unclear whether alcohol is causal in health benefits or what lifestyles benefit most from drinking)
28
Q

Meta-anlysis on risk threshold for alcohol consumption

A
  • 83 study meta-analysis
  • Calculated risks as a function of grams of alcohol consumed per week
    (separated risk for all mortality from cardiovascular causes)
  • had a 600,000 sample
  • found CVD is higher with no alcohol compared to moderate alcohol. But there is not gain or benefit from drinking
29
Q

how do we reduce the harm of alcohol?

A
  • Alcohol is very bad for you obvs
  • Increase the price (the price of alcohol determines how much is used, tax by alcohol content, ban alcohol discounts ‘happy hours’)
  • Restrict availability (get it out of the supermarkets, limit hours that bars and pubs are open, limit deals and promotions that encourage irresponsible drinking, stricter open container laws)
  • Treat it like a health issue
    (treat dependence like a health issue, prioritize government funding for programs)
  • Stop people Binge Drinking
    (this will require a concerted effort from many groups, difficult as alcohol is a huge source of revenue)
30
Q
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30
Q
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