Long-Term Effects of Alcohol

LIVER DISORDERS The liver maintains the blood sugar level in the body. This sugar (glucose) is the only source of energy that brain cells can use. When alcohol is consumed, the liver's attention is diverted from maintaining the sugar level to ridding the body of the alcohol, thus denying the brain the energy it needs to function properly. Liver disorders associated with heavy alcohol use are: * Fatty liver, which gets its name from the deposits of fat that build up in normal liver cells. It is caused by the decreased breakdown of fatty acids by the liver and occurs when 30 to 50 percent or more of the drinker's dietary calories consist of alcohol. Acute fatty liver is reversible it alcohol use is stopped. * Alcoholic hepatitis, which often follows a severe or prolonged bout of heavy drinking. The liver becomes inflamed, damaging many liver cells, and metabolism is seriously disturbed. Symptoms include jaundice (yellowish color of the skin and whites of the eyes), weakness, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, low-grade fever, dark urine, and mild weight loss. Alcoholic hepatitis is usually reversible with abstinence from alcohol. In some drinkers, it can be fatal or can become chronic. Alcoholic hepatitis precedes alcoholic cirrhosis in some cases. * Cirrhosis of the liver, a condition in which there is major destruction of liver cells and a build-up of scar tissue. One in 10 long-term heavy drinkers eventually develops cirrhosis of the liver. Because of the irreversible damage caused, a person with cirrhosis will most likely die within five years.
	HEART DISEASE Moderate drinking causes a significant rise in blood pressure. Heavy alcohol use is an important factor in causing high blood pressure and an enlarged heart, which increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. As few as two drinks a day can lead to impaired muscle functioning of the heart.
	REPRODUCTION AND PREGNANCY Effects of heavy alcohol use include missed menstrual periods in women and diminished libido (sexual desire) and possible sterility in men. A woman who drinks alcohol during pregnancy risks the health of her unborn child. Alcohol passes freely through the placenta, creating a level in the fetus almost identical to that in the mother. Babies whose mothers drank frequently or heavily during pregnancy may be born with serious birth defects. These defects are termed Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), or Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE), which include babies affected by alcohol but without the full set of FAS characteristics. These characteristics are low birth weight, physical deformities, heart defects,joint and limb deformities, heart defects, joint and limb malformations and mental retardation. FAE complications include spontaneous abortion, stillbirth delivery, low birth weight, neurobehavioral abnormalities, mental retardation, cerebral palsy and learning disorders.