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Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 18e
| Part 17. Neurologic Disorders > Section 6. Alcoholism and Drug Dependency > |
Chapter 392. Alcohol and Alcoholism
Sections: Introduction, The Effects of Ethanol on Organ Systems, Alcoholism (Alcohol Abuse or Dependence), Further Readings.
Topics Discussed: alcohol abuse; alcohol dependence; alcohol use disorder; substance-related disorders: alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine.
Excerpt:"Alcohol (beverage ethanol) distributes throughout the body, affecting almost all systems and altering nearly every neurochemical process in the brain. This drug is likely to exacerbate most medical conditions, affect almost any medication metabolized in the liver, and temporarily mimic many medical (e.g., diabetes) and psychiatric (e.g., depression) conditions. Because  80% of people in Western countries have consumed alcohol, and two-thirds have been drunk in the prior year, the lifetime risk for serious, repetitive alcohol problems is almost 20% for men and 10% for women, regardless of a person's education or income. While low doses of alcohol have some healthful benefits, the intake of more than three standard drinks per day on a regular basis enhances the risk for cancer and vascular disease, and alcohol use disorders decrease the life span by about 10 years. Unfortunately, most clinicians have had only limited education regarding these conditions. This chapter presents a brief overview of clinically useful information about alcohol use, abuse, and dependence.Blood levels of ethanol are expressed as milligrams or grams of ethanol per deciliter (e.g., 100 mg/dL = 0.10 g/dL), with values of 0.02..."
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