7. Alchohol

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes covering alcohol intake guidelines, metabolic pathways, and physical/health consequences.

Fermentation

The process of using starchy foods, such as barley or wheat, to produce ethanol and $CO_2$.

Psychoactive drug

Any substance that crosses the blood brain barrier, primarily affecting the functioning of the brain by altering mood, thinking, memory, motor control, or behavior.

Ethanol

The only type of organic alcohol compound consumed in alcoholic beverages.

Binge drinking

A pattern of consumption defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as $5$ or more drinks for men, and $4$ or more drinks for women, within $2\,hours$ or less.

Moderate alcohol intake

An intake level defined by United States dietary guidelines as no more than $1$ drink per day for women and no more than $2$ drinks per day for men.

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC)

A legal measurement expressed in milligrams percent that compares units of alcohol to units of blood to assess intoxication and impairment.

Standard drink

A standard serving defined as $12\,ounces$ of beer, $5\,ounces$ of wine, or $1.5\,ounces$ of hard liquor.

Acetaminophen

The medicinal name for Tylenol, which is transformed by alcohol-activated enzymes into a toxic metabolite that causes liver inflammation and damage.

Alcohol dehydrogenase system

The primary hepatic metabolic pathway responsible for processing $80\%$ to $90\%$ of total hepatic ethanol uptake.

Acetaldehyde

A highly toxic intermediate product formed during ethanol breakdown in the liver that must be rapidly degraded to protect hepatic cells.

Acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH)

The liver enzyme that carries out degradation reactions to convert toxic acetaldehyde into nontoxic acetate.

Microsomal ethanol oxidizing system (MEOS)

A liver metabolic pathway that handles $10\%$ to $20\%$ of ethanol in moderate drinkers, but is induced during heavy drinking to clear excess ethanol faster.

Acetate

A nontoxic molecule produced from acetaldehyde that is either released into circulation or converted to acetyl CoA in liver cells.

Fatty liver (hepatic steatosis)

A reversible liver condition caused by the accumulation of stored triglycerides and VLDL particles inside liver cells.

Alcoholic hepatitis

An alcohol-induced inflammation of the liver characterized by a swollen liver, abdominal pain, nausea, fever, jaundice, and vomiting.

Cirrhosis

A serious form of alcoholic liver disease where dying liver cells form scar tissue containing regenerative nodules, blocking blood flow and causing toxin accumulation.

Hyperlipidemia

A condition caused by the accumulation of VLDL particles in the blood as liver cells release them into circulation.

Atherosclerosis

The buildup of cholesterol deposition plaques inside blood vessel walls, resulting from high circulating levels of LDL particles.

Acute myocardial infarction

The clinical term for a heart attack, occurring when a cardiac artery is blocked, depriving cardiac cells of energy and causing cell death.