Gaillo
26th July 2012, 06:18 PM
From here:
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/14/us/aspirin-and-liquor-can-be-a-bad-mix-study-says.html
Aspirin and Liquor Can Be a Bad Mix, Study Says
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Aspirin, a longtime antidote for the side effects of drinking, may actually enhance alcohol's effect, researchers at the Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center say.
In a report on a study being published in today's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, the researchers said they found that aspirin significantly lowered the body's ability to break down alcohol in the stomach.
As a result, volunteers who took two extra-strength aspirin tablets an hour before drinking had blood alcohol levels 30 percent higher than when they drank alcohol alone. Each volunteer consumed the equivalent of a glass and a half of wine.
That 30 percent could make the difference between sobriety and impairment, said Dr. Charles S. Lieber, medical director of the Alcohol Research and Treatment Center at the Bronx center, who was co-author of the report with Dr. Risto Roine.
Dr. Lieber said the newly discovered interaction had many implications for the millions of people who take these two commonly used drugs in tandem.
"This is a significant interaction, and people should be aware of it," Dr. Lieber said. "If they know from past experience that a small amount of alcohol doesn't interfere with their ability to drive or operate machinery, they may be in danger if they have taken aspirin as well."
The results also suggest that the common strategy of taking aspirin before parties to ward drunk-induced headaches and hangovers is bound to backfire. "It could get people into trouble and shouldn't be condoned," Dr. Lieber said. But taking aspirin the next morning may still help relieve a hangover. Rain on a Parade?
Some questioned the study's practical implications. "I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but you probably shouldn't be drinking and driving on the expressway anyway," said Dr. Richard Veech, chief of the Lab of Metabolism and Molecular Biology at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at the National Institutes of Health.
He said aspirin and alcohol in small amounts are two of the safest drugs known to man. "When I go home tonight, I'm going to have a martini, and if I have a headache, I'm going to take an aspirin, regardless of the study," he said. "I wouldn't want to say don't take aspirin if you drink, and I don't want people to worry."
The latest study, conducted on five volunteers, comes after years of test-tube and animal research on alcohol breakdown in the stomach, all of which pointed to the aspirin effect.
Aspirin interferes with the action of an enzyme in the stomach lining called alcohol dehydrogenase, which breaks down a portion of each drink consumed before it enters the bloodstream, but the exact mechanism is unknown, Dr. Lieber said. Earlier work by Dr. Lieber's group showed that women have less enzyme activity than men. Aspirin probably has no effect on alcohol once it has been absorbed and is circulating.
Dr. Lieber's group is now studying the interaction between alcohol and other drugs to combat pain, including acetaminophen and ibuprofen, which are in such over-the-counter medications as Tylenol and Advil.
Translation: Take 2 aspirin an hour before drinking, then drink 30% less for the same buzz! ;D
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/14/us/aspirin-and-liquor-can-be-a-bad-mix-study-says.html
Aspirin and Liquor Can Be a Bad Mix, Study Says
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Aspirin, a longtime antidote for the side effects of drinking, may actually enhance alcohol's effect, researchers at the Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center say.
In a report on a study being published in today's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, the researchers said they found that aspirin significantly lowered the body's ability to break down alcohol in the stomach.
As a result, volunteers who took two extra-strength aspirin tablets an hour before drinking had blood alcohol levels 30 percent higher than when they drank alcohol alone. Each volunteer consumed the equivalent of a glass and a half of wine.
That 30 percent could make the difference between sobriety and impairment, said Dr. Charles S. Lieber, medical director of the Alcohol Research and Treatment Center at the Bronx center, who was co-author of the report with Dr. Risto Roine.
Dr. Lieber said the newly discovered interaction had many implications for the millions of people who take these two commonly used drugs in tandem.
"This is a significant interaction, and people should be aware of it," Dr. Lieber said. "If they know from past experience that a small amount of alcohol doesn't interfere with their ability to drive or operate machinery, they may be in danger if they have taken aspirin as well."
The results also suggest that the common strategy of taking aspirin before parties to ward drunk-induced headaches and hangovers is bound to backfire. "It could get people into trouble and shouldn't be condoned," Dr. Lieber said. But taking aspirin the next morning may still help relieve a hangover. Rain on a Parade?
Some questioned the study's practical implications. "I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but you probably shouldn't be drinking and driving on the expressway anyway," said Dr. Richard Veech, chief of the Lab of Metabolism and Molecular Biology at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at the National Institutes of Health.
He said aspirin and alcohol in small amounts are two of the safest drugs known to man. "When I go home tonight, I'm going to have a martini, and if I have a headache, I'm going to take an aspirin, regardless of the study," he said. "I wouldn't want to say don't take aspirin if you drink, and I don't want people to worry."
The latest study, conducted on five volunteers, comes after years of test-tube and animal research on alcohol breakdown in the stomach, all of which pointed to the aspirin effect.
Aspirin interferes with the action of an enzyme in the stomach lining called alcohol dehydrogenase, which breaks down a portion of each drink consumed before it enters the bloodstream, but the exact mechanism is unknown, Dr. Lieber said. Earlier work by Dr. Lieber's group showed that women have less enzyme activity than men. Aspirin probably has no effect on alcohol once it has been absorbed and is circulating.
Dr. Lieber's group is now studying the interaction between alcohol and other drugs to combat pain, including acetaminophen and ibuprofen, which are in such over-the-counter medications as Tylenol and Advil.
Translation: Take 2 aspirin an hour before drinking, then drink 30% less for the same buzz! ;D