How excess alcohol damages the body

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Extract from the article: More than 200 diseases are attributable to alcohol consumed in excess. Either directly, or because it is a risk factor.

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More than 200 diseases are attributable to alcohol consumed in excess. Either directly, or because it is a risk factor.

Some diseases are directly attributable to excess alcohol, such as alcoholic cirrhosis or Korsakoff's syndrome. For others, it remains a risk factor. This is the case for a number of cancers (mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, liver, breast, colorectal cancer) due to the passage of alcohol through the mucous membrane of the mouth and oesophagus, and then more massively through the stomach and intestines.

The liver, the first victim

The liver is the main target of alcohol, since it is there that it accumulates and is broken down. A majority of excessive alcohol consumers develop steatosis (an accumulation of lipids in the blood that can progress to cirrhosis), a third alcoholic cirrhosis (severe inflammation of the liver and its progressive destruction) and acute alcoholic hepatitis (sudden death of liver cells). These are serious diseases: in the case of cirrhosis and/or severe alcoholic hepatitis, life expectancy at five years varies from 20 to 60%. Abstinence from alcohol can improve the situation at any stage of the disease, but the more advanced the stage, the greater the risk of complications and mortality.

Alcohol is also a major contributor to cardiovascular disease: high blood pressure and ischaemic heart disease. These risks can be explained by the toxicity of alcohol.It is broken down into very aggressive intermediates for proteins and DNA. It causes irreversible damage to the cells with which it comes into contact.

From the liver to the brain

The brain is also a prime target for alcohol, both because of its toxicity and because of the presence of ethanol receptors. At high doses, their activation causes neuronal signals to be extinguished and brain activity to be depressed. More than half of all people addicted to ethanol suffer cognitive problems: problems with attention, concentration, memory, movement control and so on.These effects are slowly reversible in the event of withdrawal.Alcohol also alters the release of serotonin and dopamine, increasing the risk of depression and dependence.

Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with a threefold increase in the risk of dementia and a doubling of the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Among the dementias directly attributable to alcohol is Korsakoff's syndrome, associated with thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency in the brain, also attributable to alcohol. This dementia is characterised by massive and irreversible memory loss and a tendency to fabricate to compensate for forgetfulness.

Jean ELI