Moderate Alcohol Consumption May Prevent Rheumatoid Arthritis
A study on mice, presented in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has suggested that moderate alcohol consumption may actually protect against arthritis.
Researchers at the Gothenburg University in Sweden injected mice with collagen to initiate collagen induced arthritis (CIA) in the mice. The mice were injected at the beginning of the experiment and received an additional injection after three weeks. CIA development in mice is as established model of rheumatoid arthritis in humans.
25 of the mice drank water with 10% ethanol added while the remaining 27 mice received water only. 30 days into the study (9 days after the booster injections), 23 of the 27 control mice (85%) had developed collagen induced arthritis while just 5 of the 25 (20%) mice that drank ethanol developed arthritis.
After five weeks, all of the control mice had developed arthritis while more than 60% of the ethanol drinking mice remained free of arthritis. Furthermore, arthritis was less severe in the ethanol fed mice with less inflammation of joints and destruction of bone and cartilage observed.
Researchers believe that moderate alcohol consumption may increase testosterone levels circulating in the body. In the mice study, ethanol consumption led to a significant increase in testosterone levels compared to the control mice.
Treatment of arthritis with testosterone is known to reduce the severity of arthritis. Testosterone restricts the releasing of certain proteins known as cytokines that cause inflammation in the body. This is reinforced by the observation that males, especially younger males are less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis at a given age than females.
Studies on the effects of alcohol on testosterone in humans have been mixed however with some studies finding heavy alcohol consumption actually inhibits testosterone secretion leading to a reduction in testosterone levels in the body.
The researchers also found that acetaldehyde or ethanal, which is produced when the body metabolizes alcohol, produces a similar protective effect against arthritis.
While mild alcohol consumption may benefit arthritis sufferers in addition to protecting against cardiovascular disease, heavy alcohol intake is known to increase heart disease risk, cause brain and liver damage, and supress the immune system, raising the risks of developing infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.
According to Professor Andrej Tarkowski, who led the research, it is difficult to translate the ethanol dose received by the mice into an amount that would create a similar effect in humans:”We can’t translate these results to find out the therapeutic dose in humans. The mice were given a dose of 10% of alcohol in their water, but we don’t know if it would be the same for humans. It would probably be lower.”
healthhubs.net
|
|