Clinical facts - excerpted from Duke University Web Site

EFFECTS OF LONG-TERM ALCOHOL ABUSE

Prolonged, heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages can result in one or more serious, often life threatening consequences.

• infectious diseases
• nutritional deficiency
• cancer
• liver disorders & diseases
• muscle disease
• hypoglycemia
• nervous system diseases
• mental disorders
• endocrine system disorders
• cardiovascular diseases
• gastrointestinal system disorders
• alcohol/drug interactions and diseases
• deprivation of rapid eye movements (REM) or dreaming sleep, results in anxiety, chronic tiredness, and impaired concentration
• alcohol use may aggravate migraine sufferers' tendency to vascular headaches

Blackouts are lapses in memory during intoxication; they are not a loss of consciousness. Whether lasting a few minutes or hours, blackouts are unpredictable but usually happen when the blood alcohol level is high. A blackout usually occurs after ingestion of large amounts of alcohol and for most social drinkers, it is a learning experience. Continued drinking patterns that produce blackouts indicate a high risk for alcohol problems.

Hangover Theories

The hangover is a mild manifestation of alcohol withdrawal. In the earlier stages, it is the all too familiar "hangover headache." This is more likely related to vascular changes and has nothing to do with the brain. The brain itself has no pain receptors. So, any headache pain must be from the nerves surrounding the lining, skin, vessels, or muscles. Although the alcohol has been eliminated, the body's chemical balance has been upset, digestive organs have been abused, and an overpowering fatigue is felt. There is a lack of consensus among researchers on the causes of hangovers. The explanations most frequently cited are described below.

What are the causes of a hangover?

Central Nervous System (CNS) Rebound
Alcohol has a depressant effect on the CNS. With abstinence, this depressant effect is removed and there is a "rebound" of sensitivity to stimuli. An area of the CNS particularly affected is the reticular activating system which oversees the general arousal level and CNS activity.

Congeners
The congeners or chemicals added to color, flavor, preserve, or stabilize alcoholic beverages may cause headaches.

Dehydration
Alcohol suppresses the hormone regulating the amount of urine produced, therefore, too little of the hormone is released and the kidneys form excessive urine. The kidneys' capacity to reabsorb water is diminished and water is excreted from the body. Therefore, intoxication causes the body to lose water (including vitamins and minerals). This produces the sensation of thirst of "cotton mouth."

Depleted Body Blood Sugar/Glucose
Alcohol depletes the body of its blood sugar causing a hypoglycemic state. In this state there is a reduced concentration of blood sugar. The brain is deprived of its proper nourishment. Symptoms include hunger, weakness, nervousness, sweating, headache, and tremor.

Deprivation of Brain Oxygen
The brain is the organ most sensitive to alcohol. It also receives less oxygen when alcohol is present, which adds to the feeling of fatigue the following morning.

Stomach Irritant/Digestion Rebound
Alcohol is an irritant which produces the flow of gastric juices in the stomach lining, causing nausea and vomiting. The next morning, a "rebound effect" is produced as the stomach works extra hard to neutralize the gastric acid. This may cause an upset stomach.

Sleep Disturbance
Alcohol alters the neuro-chemical balance within the brain. Although some people fall asleep faster with a drink, alcohol depresses REM (Rapid Eye Movement or dreaming) sleep and causes more sleep disturbance later at night. REM sleep is an important component of a healthy sleep cycle. Even if people think they sleep well, the loss of REM sleep makes people want to sleep longer in the morning and would then feel tired during the day. Deprivation of REM sleep is what causes people to feel tired.

Vascular Changes
Alcohol is a vasodilator. It increases blood flow to the extremities. One reason for morning chills may be a rebound effect. As the blood vessels constrict, there is a reduced blood flow to the extremities, and therefore less warmth. These vascular changes have also been related to the hangover headaches. Migraine sufferers should avoid alcohol because use ma aggravate their tendency to vascular headaches.

The simple cause is too much alcohol. The only prevention is to avoid drinking too much, too fast. There is no cure for a hangover. Once excessive drinking has taken place, only time will cure a hangover--none of the many popular home remedies have been shown to be cures.

If you find this interesting - you may find this site interesting also.
For some 'serious' clinical research on alcohol dependency - go to:
www.mentalhealth.com/dis-rs/frs-sb01.html

These Factoids derived from this website: http://www.silcom.com/~sbadp/
The Santa Barbara Alcohol and Drug Program / The Santa Barbara County Health Care Services - Online Information Services

A L C O H O L   F A C T O I D S

• 85% of Family Violence is alcohol and other drug-related
• 65% of High School Dropouts have an alcohol or other drug involvement
• 75% of Teen Pregnancies have an alcohol or other drug involvement
• 80% of Crime has an alcohol or other drug involvement (50% for alcohol)
• 50% of Homicides are alcohol-related
• 25% of older adults have an alcohol or other drug problem
• 25% of all Emergency Room Admissions are alcohol-related
• 50% of all Hospital Admissions are alcohol-related
• 50% of first time admissions to Mental Hospitals are alcoholics
• 35% of High School Seniors have 5 or more drinks in a row at least every two weeks
• 4% of High School Seniors drink daily
• 74% of alcohol and drug-dependent women report sexual abuse, including rape and incest
• 52% of men convicted of Rape or other Sexual Assault had been drinking prior to the offense
• 33% of Child Molestation cases are alcohol-related
• 54% of drug treatment programs will refuse treatment to Pregnant Women
• 25% of American Families have an alcohol-related problem
• 73% of Elementary School Children referred to Counseling may have alcohol and other drug-related problems in their Homes

F E T A L   A L C O H O L   S Y N D R O M E

NCADD FACT SHEET

There is no known safe dose of alcohol during pregnancy,
...nor does there appear to be a safe time to drink during pregnancy.

DEFINITIONS

FAS is characterized by a cluster of congenital birth defects that develop in the infants of some women who drink heavily during pregnancy. These defects include prenatal and postnatal growth deficiency; facial malformations such as a small head circumference, flattened midface, sunken nasal bridge and flattened and elongated philtrum; central nervous system dysfunction; and varying degrees of major organ system malformations.2

Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE), a less severe version of FAS, is characterized by milder or less frequent FAS signs. Low birth weight, subtle behavioral problems or a partial display of physical malformations, for example, may be seen in the newborns of women who consumed less alcohol during pregnancy than women with FAS newborns.3

INCIDENCE AND RISK FACTORS

• Nearly 5,000 babies--one in every 750-are born with FAS every year. (FAS prevalence rates range from one in 1,000 to one in 200.) Comparatively, FAE may affect 36,000 newborns each year.4
  
• One in six women in the peak childbearing years of 18-34 may drink enough, either chronically or episodically, to present a hazard to an unborn infant.5
  
• Alcoholic women are at highest risk of bearing children with FAS Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences and distorted thinking (most notably denial).
  
• FAS is prevalent in 9.8 of every 1,000 American Indians from a particular high-risk culture. Other American Indian populations have rates ranging from 1.3 to 10.3 for every 1.000.'
  
• An average of one to two reported drinks daily is linked to decreased birthweight, growth abnormalities and behavioral problems in the newborn and infant. Increased risk of spontaneous abortion has been found at an even lower dose: one to two drinks twice weekly.8
  
• The probability of having a child with FAS or FAE increases with the amount and frequency of alcohol consumed. Whenever a pregnant woman stops drinking, she reduces the risks of FAE and the consequences of alcohol exposure.9
  
• There is no known safe dose of alcohol during pregnancy, nor does there appear to be a safe time to drink during pregnancy. Although 90 percent of the public is aware that drinking during pregnancy may damage the fetus, one study showed that one-third of women interviewed believed that drinking more than three drinks a day during pregnancy was safe.
  
• "GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) According to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects...."
  
• --Warning label required by federal law on beer, wine, hard-liquor and wine-cooler containers, effective November 1989.

ECONOMIC FACTORS

• Assuming a conservative estimate of one FAS newborn for every 1,000 live births in 1980, it cost approximately $14.8 million to treat them; $670 million to treat the 68,000 FAS children under 18; and $760 million to treat 160,000 FAS adults. Plus, indirect productivity losses were $510.5 million."
  
• Women are now heavily targeted for marketing of alcoholic beverages. (Women will spend $30 billion on alcoholic beverages in 1994, up from $20 billion in 1984.)'2

PUBLIC HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS

• The best advice for pregnant women is to abstain from alcohol consumption during pregnancy. There is no evidence to establish an alcohol consumption level free of risks to the fetus.'3
  
• Women who breastfeed should continue to abstain from drinking alcohol until their babies are weaned. Alcohol readily enters breast milk and heavy alcohol consumption has been shown to reduce lactation.'4
  
• As of January 1990, nine states and 17 cities/counties require that signs warning of the dangers of drinking during pregnancy be posted wherever alcoholic beverages are served or sold.'5

SOURCES