Did you know that drinking too much alcohol over a long time can make people feel more pain? That’s what scientists at Scripps Research found out.
They also think there might be two different ways that this can happen—one when people are drinking alcohol and another when they stop drinking it.
This research is important because it could help us find new ways to treat pain in people who drink a lot of alcohol.
Understanding the connection between pain and alcohol is a big challenge, according to Dr. Marisa Roberto, who is the lead scientist on this project.
Alcohol Use Disorder and Pain
Alcohol Use Disorder, or AUD, is when people have a hard time controlling how much alcohol they drink. This can cause a lot of health problems, like heart disease, stroke, and liver disease.
One of the problems caused by AUD is pain. More than half of the people with AUD feel pain that doesn’t go away.
This pain can come from nerve damage or from changes in the brain and the body’s immune system.
This pain can make people drink even more alcohol. Also, when people with AUD stop drinking, they can feel pain from things that usually don’t hurt.
Studying Pain in Mice
The scientists wanted to understand why people with AUD feel more pain. So, they did a study with mice. Some of the mice drank a lot of alcohol, some drank a little, and some didn’t drink any alcohol.
The mice that drank a lot of alcohol felt more pain when they stopped drinking. But when they started drinking again, they felt less pain.
The mice that only drank a little alcohol also felt more pain when they stopped drinking, but they didn’t feel better when they started drinking again.
Inflammation and Pain
The scientists also looked at how the mice’s bodies reacted to alcohol. They found that the bodies of all the mice who drank alcohol had more inflammation, which is a way the body reacts to injury or disease.
But the bodies of the mice that drank a lot of alcohol had even more inflammation.
This suggests that there are different ways that alcohol can cause pain, and that different treatments might be needed for different types of pain.
Looking for Ways to Help
Now scientists are studying how to use this information to help people.
They want to find ways to tell apart the different types of pain caused by alcohol. They also want to find new treatments for these different types of pain.
One of the scientists, Dr. Nicoletta Galeotti, says, “Our goal is to unveil new potential molecular targets that can be used to distinguish these types of pain and potentially be used in the future for the development of therapies.”
This means they’re looking for specific parts of cells that could be used to develop new medicines to treat pain in people with AUD.
Conclusion
This study helps us understand that drinking too much alcohol can make people feel more pain. It also shows that there might be different ways that this can happen.
The scientists hope that their work can lead to new treatments to help people with AUD who suffer from pain. They continue to research to find out more.
So, remember: too much alcohol can lead to many problems, including more pain. It’s always important to drink responsibly.
If you care about pain, please read studies that 1 in 3 people with chronic pain turn to marijuana, and these vitamins could help reduce bone fracture risk.
For more information about wellness, please see recent studies that Krill oil could improve muscle health, and a study shows powerlifting is an effective exercise for chronic low back pain.
The study was published in the British Journal of Pharmacology.
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