Topic: AlcoholismConsequences
The hallmarks of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence involve repeated life problems that can be directly
attributed to the use of alcohol. Both these disorders can have serious consequences, affecting an
individual's health and personal life, as well as having an impact on society at large.
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Alcoholism : Causes and symptoms
There are probably a number of factors that work together to cause a person to become an alcoholic.
Recent genetic studies have demonstrated that close relatives of an alcoholic are four times more
likely to become alcoholics themselves. Furthermore, this risk holds true even for children who were
adopted away from their biological families at birth and raised in a non-alcoholic adoptive family,
with no knowledge of their biological family's difficulties with alcohol. More research is being
conducted to determine if genetic factors could account for differences in alcohol metabolism that
may increase the risk of an individual becoming an alcoholic.
Alcohol exerts a depressive effect on the brain. The blood-brain barrier does not prevent alcohol
from entering the brain, so the brain alcohol level will quickly become equivalent to the blood
alcohol level. Alcohol's depressive effects result in difficulty walking, poor balance, slurring
of
speech, and generally poor coordination (accounting in part for the increased likelihood of injury).
The affected person may also have impairment of periperal vision.
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