Combination of alcohol and Smoking can cause neural damage to the brain
Alcohol and Smoking are a very dangerous combination
Tobacco Smoking causes, among many other health consequences of chemical changes, oxidative Stress and inflammation in the brain. Excessive alcohol consumption can have similar effects. The common use of tobacco and alcohol seems to even result in neural damage in certain regions of the brain.
The scientists from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) found in their recent study that the common use of tobacco and alcohol can lead to neuronal damage in certain regions of the brain. The doctors published the results of their study in the English journal “ACS Chemical Neuroscience”.
Combined effect of alcohol and Smoking has been studied
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, many people who smoke tobacco, drink excessive alcohol, and Vice versa. The investigation of the combined effects of both substances on the Central nervous system can therefore provide valuable insights. Most of the previous studies, however, have investigated the consequences of Smoking or alcohol consumption in isolation. Therefore, the scientists have checked in to your current study in rats, the combination of alcohol and Smoking affects the different regions of the brain.
Animals were twice exposed to daily alcohol and tobacco
The experts gave the experimental animals over a period of 28 days of twice-daily alcohol, is exposed to tobacco smoke, or a combination of the two substances. The brains of the rats were then compared with the brains of control animals, which received no such substances. So the scientists were able to determine that the combined alcohol – and smoke treatment increased the concentration of reactive oxygen species in the Hippocampus, compared with the animals from the control group or rats, which were exposed to a substance.
What is the impact on the brain could be detected
In all studied areas of the brain, the alcohol-enhanced-Smoking-combination of the concentration of specific proinflammatory cytokines more strongly than the contact with each of the substances alone. In an area of the brain, which is referred to as the Striatum and in the frontal cortex of rats showed that tobacco and smoke lower Level of a growth factor to the survival of existing neurons and helps the growth of new neurons stimulated were exposed. The results of the study suggest that alcoholics who smoke also have an extra risk for nerve damage, the scientists explain. (as)
