• Tiny fragments of cells called platelets are responsible for clotting
• Clotting after injury stops bleeding; clotting within a blood vessel can obstruct blood flow to the heart muscle, leading to a heart attack
• Alcohol may ‘thin’ the blood, thereby reducing the chances of…

• Heavy alcohol consumption can cause biochemical changes in the body
• Testing for specific biochemical markers is one way of establishing the likelihood of problem drinking
• Biochemical markers tend to be less sensitive for women than for men

In addition to…

• Alcoholism is known to compromise the immune system
• African-American alcoholics are at greater risk for certain infectious diseases
• African-American ethnicity, in conjunction with alcoholism, seems to signify a more compromised immune system
• These immune…

• Alcoholics have reduced levels of serotonin, a brain chemical
• Alcohol increases serotonin levels, as do carbohydrates
• Those alcoholics with high cravings for carbohydrates have a unique response to specific diets
• Carbohydrate craving may be an important clue in…

• Excessive alcohol consumption clearly has a deleterious effect on brain structure and function
• Gait and balance, followed by visuospatial abilities, show the greatest alcohol-related deficits
• Two principal neural systems, the cerebellar-frontal and the corticocortical…

• Alcohol has both sedative-like and stimulant-like effects on the brain
• Benzodiazepines, which have a sedative effect, are used as sleeping pills
• Alcohol and benzodiazepines both facilitate brain GABA activity, which is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter system in the…

• Genetic factors are known to contribute to the development of alcoholism
• Biochemical characteristics can help identify those people with a predisposition for alcoholism
• The enzyme platelet adenylyl cyclase may be such a biochemical marker
• The marker seems to…

• The exact relationship between alcohol use and marital aggression has been unclear
• A recent study has found that alcohol can contribute to marital violence under certain circumstances
• Alcohol seems to exacerbate marital problems when conflict already exists
• …

• Alcohol-related deaths can be classified as "natural" (disease-related) or "unnatural" (event-related)
• Nearly 29 percent of all unnatural deaths in Sweden during a five-year period were found to be associated with alcohol
• Study authors estimated that as much as 44…

• Children of alcoholics may be at risk for lower intellectual, cognitive and academic performance
• Children of alcoholics with a co-existing antisocial personality disorder may be at even greater risk
• Parental cognitive abilities and educational attainment may also…