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Tag: intoxication

02.27.2013

sobering up with nanoparticles

Martini

In keeping with today’s theme of alcohol-related science (see today’s earlier post), Popular Science recently had a write-up on using enzymes encapsulated in nanoparticles to help mice sober up after alcohol consumption. From PopSci:

Led by Yunfeng Lu, a chemical and biomolecular engineering professor at UCLA, researchers injected mice with three enzymes related to the breakdown of sugars, and after this worked, they tried it with two enzymes related to the breakdown of alcohol, alcohol oxidase (AOx) and catalase. They wanted to test the enzymes as both an intoxication preventive and a treatment.

When mice were fed a diet of alcohol and the nano-capsule at the same time, their blood alcohol concentrations were greatly reduced within 30-minute increments, compared to mice that were fed just alcohol or alcohol plus one of the enzymes. The team also tested it on drunk mice, and found the treatment greatly lowered yet another enzyme, alanine transaminase, which is a biomarker for liver damage.

For the original research published in Nature Nanotechnology click here.

02.27.2013

drunk on alcohol and caffeine

diet soda

How does mixing a caffeinated drinks like coffee or cola with alcohol change your level of drunkeness?

This month’s Scicurious column on Scientific American examines the interaction between caffeine and alcohol when we’re drinking. As you know alcohol is a depressant and caffeine is a stimulant. Does the combination of the two cancel each other out? Or is there a more complex interaction. An excerpt:

Consuming alcohol results in one set of effects, and consuming caffeine results in a completely different set of effects. When used in moderation, both alcohol and caffeine consumed alone can have positive outcomes. Despite this, most of us have experienced very negative consequences from consuming too much of either beverage. What about alcohol and caffeine together? When alcohol and caffeine are combined, the effects and ultimate results become much more complicated.

Alcohol drinkers who also consume caffeine feel awake, talkative, and stimulated for a much longer period of time compared to when they drink alcohol alone. However, the added caffeine does not make you less drunk or less likely to go home with a grenade. Furthermore, the sedation that always accompanies drinking alcohol is often muted, or experienced much later when caffeine is in the picture.

Click the link for much, much more.

02.13.2013

drunk on diet soda

diet soda

Some people may get drunker when mixing alcohol with diet sodas compared to regular soda

A new (and small) research study suggests that mixing diet soda with alcoholic beverages can lead to greater intoxication than having alcohol with a sugared mixer.  NPR’s Allison Aubrey spoke with the researcher about the findings:

So what was the motivation for the new study? “I wanted to know if the choice of a mixer could be the factor that puts a person above or below the legal limit,” writes Marczinski, who’s a professor at Northern Kentucky University.

And it turns out, diet soda might just push you past that tipping point. Marczinski’s study found that the average BrAC was .091 (at its peak) when subjects drank alcohol mixed with a diet drink. By comparison, BrAC was .077 when the same subjects consumed the same amount of alcohol but with a sugary soda.

“I was a little surprised by the findings, since the 18% increase in BrAC was a fairly large difference,” Marczinski tells The Salt via email.

Marczinski says she also wanted to determine if the volunteers in her study (eight women, eight men) would notice any differences between the two mixers. Not so much, it turns out.

The subjects didn’t report feeling more impaired or intoxicated after drinking the diet soda mixer, compared to the sugary soda. Experts say this may put them at an increased risk of drinking and driving.

 

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