Medical and Nutritional Complications of Alcoholism, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1992 Mechanisms and Management

In the Western world, alcohol is the most abused drug. recognized that a majority of patients with cirrhosis do For all the attention being directed toward heroin, co­ admit to excessive alcohol consumption. Other tissues caine, and marijuana, the favorite mood-altering drug in can also be severely affected, including brain, gut, the United States, as in almost every human society, is heart, endocrine systems, bone, blood, and muscle. A question often raised is, "In what way does an alcoholic alcohol. In nature, the fermentation of sugars is the differ from a nonalcoholic?" Inquiries have focused on major source of ethanol, but how humans first encoun­ tered it is unclear. It most likely occurred in either psychological make-up, behavioral differences, and socio­ fermented fruit juices (wine), fermented grain (beer), or economic factors. More recently, however, physical dif­ fermented honey (mead). Whether the Paleolithic Stone ferences have been delineated. Prior to the development Age man knew of ethanol is undetermined, but it is of various disease entities, chronic ethanol exposure abundantly clear that his Neolithic descendants were results in profound biochemical and morphological familiar with the product of fermentation. With the changes. Consequently, an alcoholic does not respond exception of the original inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego, normally to alcohol, other drugs, or even other toxic the Australian aborigines, and some polar tribes, all agents.

1. Metabolism of Ethanol.- 2. Acetaldehyde and Acetate.- 3. Alcohol, Hormones, and Metabolism.- 4. Ethanol and Lipid Disorders, Including Fatty Liver, Hyperlipemia, and Atherosclerosis.- 5. Effects of Ethanol on Amino Acid and Protein Metabolism.- 6. Interaction of Ethanol with Other Drugs.- 7. Alcohol and the Liver.- 8. Alcohol and the Hematologic System.- 9. Immunologic Reactions in Alcoholic Liver Disease.- 10. Alcohol and the Digestive Tract.- 11. Ethanol and the Pancreas.- 12. Cardiovascular Effects of Ethanol.- 13. Effects of Alcohol Abuse on Skeletal Muscle.- 14. The Effects of Alcohol on the Nervous System: Clinical Features, Pathogenesis, and Treatment.- 15. Alcohol Abuse: Carcinogenic Effects and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Description, Diagnosis, and Prevention.- 16. Alcohol and the Kidney.- 17. Nutrition: Medical Problems of Alcoholism.- 18. Biological Markers of Alcoholism.