The discovery of a biological pathway between the liver and the brain may help explain why some people drink too much alcohol. Drinking too much is known to increase the risk of developing a number of serious health conditions, including cancer and liver disease. It can also damage your heart or lead to stroke or atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat).
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A new mouse study has found that the liver could actually control how much alcohol a person consumes.
A new mouse study has found that the liver could actually control how much alcohol a person consumes. In the study, researchers say they were able to control blood-alcohol levels by turning off certain genes in the liver. They also discovered that they could make mice drink less alcohol by resetting their circadian or body clock. The findings are published in the journal Science Signaling.
“This work is exciting because it offers an entirely new way to help patients with alcoholism,” said Dr Carrieretto, who led the research at the University of Adelaide’s School of Biological Sciences and Robinson Research Institute, in Australia.
“So far, we’ve found that this system can be manipulated to reduce consumption levels.”
In the study, researchers say they were able to control blood-alcohol levels by turning off certain genes in the liver.
You might not know it, but you’re actually not consuming alcohol directly: the liver is doing most of the work. It’s the main organ that controls your body’s alcohol consumption.
Most of the time, after your bloodstream absorbs ethanol (the type of alcohol found in beer, wine and liquor), your liver converts it into an acetate that travels to your brain and can be used as fuel. In this instance, that means fuel for drunkenness—but if you take away the “drunkenness” part, then there’s nothing wrong with having a glass of red wine here and there for its antioxidant benefits.
The liver can also convert alcohol into fat. This fat is eventually stored in other parts of the body (including in an abdomen), which is why so many people who drink regularly tend to become overweight—their bodies are storing more fat than usual because their livers are converting too much from their alcoholic drinks. The liver is basically the only organ that can convert alcohol into fuel; when researchers prevented it from doing so in mice, they found that those mice had lower blood-alcohol levels than normal.
The research team also discovered that they could make mice drink less alcohol by resetting their circadian or body clock.
The research team also discovered that they could make mice drink less alcohol by resetting their circadian or body clock.
When the researchers blocked the connection between the liver and brain, the mice drank less alcohol during the day. In addition, when they altered a gene that’s crucial to maintaining the body’s natural clock (called “clock” for short) in cells in both organs, it led to lower alcohol consumption.
In other words, disrupting a mouse’s internal clock modified its alcohol intake.
“Disrupting / (the/a/your) internal clock led to modifications in [alcohol consumption.]”
Researchers hope this discovery can be used to find new ways to control excessive drinking, which can lead to a variety of health problems, including liver cirrhosis.
According to the National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, chronic heavy drinking is a leading cause of liver disease in the United States. Heavy drinking is defined as consuming more than three drinks per day or seven drinks per week for women, or consuming more than four drinks per day or 14 drinks per week for men.
Alcohol-related liver disease generally develops over time and can range from acute liver damage to cirrhosis, a condition in which scar tissue replaces normal liver tissue. Signs of alcohol-related cirrhosis include yellow skin and eyes (jaundice), red palms, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, mental confusion and blood clots.
Scientists have linked the liver and brain together in new research that may help control excessive drinking.
Until now, scientists have considered the brain to be the only organ that controls alcohol consumption. However, according to new research, other parts of the body may also affect how much we drink.
Drinking too much alcohol is known to increase the risk of developing a number of serious health conditions, including cancer and liver disease. It can also damage your heart or lead to stroke or atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat).
The data showed that when the team turned off certain genes in mice’s livers, their blood-alcohol levels remained low throughout the day. When they reactivated these genes, they stopped drinking altogether.
“The idea that shutting down liver clocks decreases alcohol intake was mind-blowing,” says Dr. Bienvenu “Felix” Charpenay-Jolivot from Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee who was part of the study team. “It really highlights a whole new area for intervention.”
Bottom Line
These findings suggest that the liver and brain have a previously unknown mechanism through which they communicate, so that when one organ is damaged, the other can adjust behavior. An interruption of this process could be the underlying mechanism for recovering alcoholics who have difficulty limiting their drinking. If the results hold up in human clinical trials, treatments to interrupt or reverse this mechanism might reduce the craving for alcohol.
