What could be more fun than having difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slower reaction times and impaired memory? Today’s youth, despite all that is known about drug and alcohol use, still give in to the allure of alcoholic beverages. One American Medical Association (AMA) study reported that roughly 20% of 18 to 30-year-olds are binge drinkers. Among those who binge, 19% said they binge “frequently,” and 7% binge every time they drink alcohol. It’s hard for young people to accept advice on alcohol consumption, yet they know that there are so many factors that influence how alcohol affects the individual, such as how much one drinks, how often, the type of drink, weight, age, genetics, gender, health and food eaten that day. Everyone feels that he or she is the exception to the rule. Those who know they have an intolerance to drinking alcohol, generally avoid it.

How does the binge drinking of alcoholic beverages affect the brain in the long run? As many as 80% of alcoholics have a thiamine deficiency, which predisposes them to serious brain disorders like Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome (WKS). WKS consists of a short–lived (but severe) condition called Wernicke’s encephalopathy and a long–lasting (and debilitating) dysfunction known as Korsakoff’s psychosis. The encephalopathy side induces mental confusion, nerve paralysis in the eyes and poor muscle coordination. Korsakoff’s psychosis leads to learning and memory failure, frustration and forgetfulness bordering on amnesia. Chronic alcohol consumption hurts the cerebellum worst of all and 25% of patients who develop WKS require a caretaker.

Alcohol poisoning can occur from the over-consumption of alcoholic drinks — notably beer. Typically the body can flush out alcohol in an hour or so. Drinking several beers in an hour will increase blood alcohol concentration, in which case the central nervous system’s gag reflex, heart rate and breathing capacity are all diminished, leading to choking, comas and death. Binge drinking creates the same effect in the body as drinking ethanol alcohol, rubbing alcohol or household cleaners.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 7:03 pm and is filed under Health & Beauty. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.