LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) – Louisville has a center that specifically looks at the way alcohol is metabolized by the body.
The director of the UofL Alcohol Center is Dr. Craig McClain. FOCUS’ Shay McAlister talked to him about the effects of alcohol on the body.
He describes what the center researches.
"That's our big thing, looking at alcohol metabolism and how alcohol and nutrition interact and intersect and how they both impact, again, the gut flora and the liver,” McClain said.
EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL
He described for WHAS11 the different ways alcohol impacts the body.
"You have a little less inhibitions, a little good feeling, a little euphoria, those types of things. That occurs [with] lower non-toxicated blood alcohol levels and then as you go up the scale you have problems with impairment and reaction time,” McClain said.
Obvious signs of impairment include slurred speech, not being able to follow commands, and poor coordination. Typically, because of bad coordination, officers who suspect impairment will conduct sobriety tests like, standing on one leg or heel to toe walking.
Reaction time is a huge issue when people are impaired because you don’t realize your body is reacting slower than usual.
“This is the problem with drunk driving- people aren't necessarily aware that they're impaired when they do it,” McClain said.
ALCOHOL ADDICTION
McClain says addiction in Kentucky is a problem, regardless of the substance.
"Addiction is something we're very interested in. It’s a huge problem. For alcohol we don't have great addiction drugs right now. This is something the NIH and drug companies are looking for- a medication to help people with addiction,” McClain said.
The center in Louisville looks at ways to lower the toxicity of alcohol and doing so through nutritional interventions.
"The liver in and other organs in the body, with alcohol abuse, become in inflamed but then that inflammation goes away. With the brain you get that, inflammation doesn’t go away quickly and that chronic inflammatory process in the brain--we think--is a major driver of addiction. So, we're looking at things that potentially decrease that inflammation in the brain as a way of treating addiction,” McClain said.
McClain said he sees people who are addicted to alcohol or opioids and they are typically in their productive years, like they should be working, producing an income, supporting a family.
"I have people that are wealthy, have theoretically everything in life that they would ever want and still will not stop drinking--even though they know they're going to kill themselves…,” McClain said.
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