Exam 4 Flashcards
- What are some potential causes of a hangover following too much alcohol ingestion?
Dehydration- alcohol increases the amount of water excreted by your body
Metabolization of acetaldehyde- body only has so much aldehyde dehydrogenase to metabolize acetaldehyde causing acetaldehyde to build up when you have a lot of acetaldehyde in your body it makes you feel bad.
Alcohol is a gastric irritant- it irritates lining of your stomach which may increase nausea and vomiting
Too many congeners (flavoring in alcohol) in the body also makes you feel sick
- What percentage of alcohol is metabolized in one hour? (Hint: take a look at the blood alcohol concentration chart in your book).
.015% of alcohol is metabolized in one hour
- What is first pass metabolism? How is this affected by drinking on an empty stomach?
15-20% of what you drink gets metabolized in the stomach by enzymes before ever getting into the bloodstream.
When you drink on an empty stomach, first pass metabolism gets bypassed, therefore you get more of what you drink into the bloodstream
Women have lower first pass metabolism than men so they feel the effects of alcohol faster/ with less drinks than men
- Review the basics of the fermentation process.
Fermentation process is the process of making wine by using yeasts to convert natural sugars into ethyl alcohol
Every sugar that gets broken down, you get : 2 molecules of alcohol and 1 molecule of carbon dioxide
Wine cant often get more than 12% because at 12%, the yeast gets killed and it stops the fermentation process
- Review the basics of the distillation process.
Distillation takes fermented liquid and boils it. Alcohol has a lower boiling temp than water, so alcohol evaporates and leaves behind the liquid at a higher boiling temp, which is water. At this point, alcohol has been turned into vapor and cooling condenses it back into liquid. After this happens, the water and alcohol become essentially separate, and alcohol is now very concentrated. This is how alcohol foes from 12% to 40%
- What is the drug Antabuse used for and how does it work?
Antabuse blocks aldehyde dehydrogenase (the enzyme that breaks down acetaldehyde) which leads to an increase in acetaldehyde, which makes you feel more hungover. This makes addicts who take this drug feel nauseous, vomit, etc. whenever they drink alcohol. The purpose is to make them stop drinking because they feel sick when they do. However, it is not very effective because some will continue to drink and some stop taking the pills
- What effects does alcohol have on the kidneys and what is antidiuretic hormone?
Alcohol dehydrates you. It increases the amount of water exerted from the body. It is a diuretic
Diuretic increase release of water from the body, by affecting the kidneys (kidneys help body contain water and does this by a hormone in the hypothalamus which is released by the pituitary gland called antidiuretic hormone)
Antidiuretic hormone- interacts with kidneys tells kidneys to retain water, reabsorb the water instead of excreting it thorugh the kidneys and bladder and be urinated out. Alcohol blocks this hormone and more water is excreted making you dehydrated
- What effect does alcohol have on body temperature?
Dilates blood vessels, making you lose body heat= lowers body temp
- How do you calculate how much alcohol is in a particular beverage (e.g. a glass of wine vs. a can of beer)?
Multiply the ounces and the percentage of alcohol
- What are some potential positive health benefits of drinking small quantities of alcohol?
Reduces risk of heart disease by increasing HDL and reducing LDL
Reduces risk of stroke because alcohol is a blood thinner and when you get a stroke, it happens by forming a clot, and its less likely to happen if the blood is thin
Reduces risk of type 2 diabetes
Reduces risk of dementia
- What are some differences between Type I and Type II alcoholism? Are there any differences in alcoholism rates based on gender?
TYPE 1- drinking problem develops later in life (30-40), generally function well in society, string environmental factor (marital problems, stressful job), tend to binge drink
TYPE 2- drinking problem develops before age 25, generally function poorly in society- thay have problems in school/work, strong genetic factor, binges are rare drink more regularly rather than binges on weekends, men are more likely to be alcoholics than women. For every 6 men there is 1 women
- Which two enzymes are involved in metabolizing alcohol into acetaldehyde and then acetic acid?
Alcohol dehydrogenase- enzyme that breaks alcohol into acetaldehyde
Aldehyde dehydrogenase- enzyme that breaks acetaldehyde into acetic acid
- Be able to recognize characteristics of alcoholism.
Drinking consistently over the course of the evening (5 or more for men, 4 or more for women)
Lack of control over drinking
Preoccupation with drinking- always think about drinking while at work or school
Continued use despite consequences such as getting broken up with, fired from job
Vocational, social and family problems
Distortion in thinking (my girlfriend is the problem, not my drinking
Emotional problems- depression
Physical problems- organ damage
Withdrawal symptoms
- What is delirium tremens?
Withdrawal symptom of alcohol. You experience hallucinations, psychomotor agitation, confusion, disorientation, sleep disorders, even seizures
- What are the three basic characteristics of fetal alcohol syndrome? What is facial dysmorphology?
Pre and post natal growth deficiency
Distinct pattern of facial dysmorphology
CNS dysfunction
Facial dysmorphology- smooth philtrum, flattered midface, epicanthal folds, small eyes and eye openings, drooping lids, small head circumference
- Which liver diseases are typically observed in alcoholics?
Fatty liver (more fat deposits in liver) Alcohol hepatitis (liver inflammation) Alcoholic cirrhosis (scarring and deterioration of liver cells)
