What is the pharmacology of alcohol?
Alcohol works in the brain primarily by increasing the effects of a neurotransmitter called γ-aminobutyric acid, or GABA. This is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, and by facilitating its actions, alcohol suppresses the activity of the central nervous system.
What is the pharmacokinetics of alcohol?
The ethanol pharmacokinetics in human body consists of three distinct phases marked by absorption, distribution and elimination (2). Roughly 95% of the alcohol ingested is metabolized through enzymatic oxidation in the liver and the rest excreted through breath, sweat and urine.
Does alcohol affect your brain?
Even in the short term, alcohol affects areas of the brain controlling cognitive and motor functions, causing them to slow down. Alcohol impairs memory, judgment, and coordination and disrupts sleep patterns. When used long-term, alcohol may cause permanent brain damage.
Why do people drink alcohol?
A number of different motives for drinking alcohol have been examined, including drinking to enhance sociability, to increase power, to escape problems, to get drunk, for enjoyment, or for ritualistic reasons.
How is alcohol eliminated from body?
More than 90% of alcohol is eliminated by the liver; 2-5% is excreted unchanged in urine, sweat, or breath. The first step in metabolism is oxidation by alcohol dehydrogenases, of which at least four isoenzymes exist, to acetaldehyde in the presence of cofactors.
Why is alcohol zero order kinetics?
ADH has a low Km and becomes saturated, reaching its Vmax, even at low concentrations of ethanol. Therefore, the enzyme appears to show zero-order kinetics because once the enzyme is saturated, the reaction rate is no longer dictated by the concentration of the ethanol (3).
Why do I like alcohol so much?
Why should we find alcohol so pleasurable? One explanation, of course, is that alcohol relaxes us and makes us more confident in social circles. We enjoy the heady sensation and keep coming back for more. It makes the party go round.