We studied the effect of alcohol ingestion on sleep-induced breathing abnormalities and arterial oxyhaemoglobin saturation in seven patients with a range of sleep-induced upper airway occlusion. The characteristics of each patient's sleep-induced breathing abnormality was established on one or more control all-night studies, and then a further all-night study was done immediately following alco...

A study was performed to verify that the prevalence of alcohol abuse and dependence in Formosan aborigines differs from that of Taiwanese (Chinese Han people), using analysis of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) isozymes and flush patterns on randomly sampled 70 Atayal, 66 Paiwan, 61 Yami and 94 Taiwanese subjects were studied. The activity of an isomer of ALDH having a low Km (ALDH-I) in hair root...

Alcohol abuse is a systemic disorder and increases the risk of lung injury. After ingestion, alcohol freely diffuses from the bronchial circulation directly through the ciliated epithelium where it vaporizes as it moves into the conducting airways. Some of vaporized alcohol can deposit back into the airway lining fluid and results in repeated exposure of the airway epithelium to high local conc...

Evaluating the function of the vestibular part of the inner ear comprises more than the classic analysis of the lateral semicircular canal function. In healthy subjects, positional alcohol nystagmus may be seen after acute alcohol ingestion. Posturography has shown a deteriorated equilibrium after even moderate doses of alcohol, which speculatively could be an effect of otolith disturbance or a...

From the available evidence, alsohol ingestion per se does not appear to be carcinogenic. While alcoholism constitutes a major and serious social problem, it is not clear to what extent it constitutes a major health problem. We suggest that excessive alcohol ingestion coupled with a nutritional deficiency or some other insult (e.g., smoking) may be carcinogenic. Alcohol and/or several nutrition...

Eighteen asymptomatic postmenopausal women volunteered to ingest 2 ml of 100-proof vodka per kg of body weight in orange juice on one night and a placebo on another. Overnight sleep monitoring was performed immediately thereafter. Alcohol ingestion caused reduction in total sleep time from 329 to 281 minutes and a decrease in rapid eye movement sleep. There was no difference from placebo in the...

Poisoning is an uncommon but potentially fatal outcome of toxic alcohol ingestion. The toxic alcohols methanol, ethylene glycol and isopropyl alcohol are commonly found in household and commercial products. Because the toxic effects are caused by the metabolites of methanol and ethylene glycol rather than the agents themselves, there is often a substantial delay between ingestion and onset of c...

Cardiovascular Effects Alcohol has various cardiovascular effects. Acute ingestion may be associated with increased cardiac rate and output, depression of left ventricular contractile function, increased systolic blood pressure and pulse pressures, diminished preload and systemic vascular resistance, cutaneous vasodilation at the expense of splanchnic constriction, and increased coronary blood ...