title: Metabolic consequences of alcohol dependency.
abstract: Alcohol dependency leads to a variety of biochemical adaptations and morphological changes which may be considered as either adaptive or destructive. This ranges from the utilization of ethanol as a metabolic fuel, to overt tissue and cellular damage, and may lead to increases in morbidity and mortality. Virtually every organ system is affected by either acute and chronic ethanol exposure and numerous metabolic pathways are altered. As a consequence of these wide ranging effects, it is extremely difficult to cover every aspect of alcohol toxicity in a single review. Instead, attention is focussed on selected areas, such as nutrition and protein metabolism in the liver and bone (and to a lesser extent, skeletal muscle and the gastrointestinal tract). The aim is to illustrate the numerous ways in which alcohol affects the body.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biochemistry King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK.
authors.forename: V R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Preedy
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Why
mesh_terms: D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000378:metabolism*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000378:metabolism*; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004064:Digestive System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000187:drug effects; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D000431:Ethanol