alcohol: how many drinks is too much drink? Too much alcohol can change your DNA

NEW YORK: Are you a heavy drinker? Take note. In addition to the fact that alcohol affects your health in many ways, it can also lead to lasting genetic change, resulting in a growing appetite for alcohol, warned researchers, including one of Indian origin.

"We found that people who drink a lot can change their DNA to make them more likely to use alcohol," said Dipak K. Sarkar, a professor at Rutgers University in the United States.

"This could help explain why alcoholism is such a powerful addiction, and could someday contribute to new ways of dealing with alcoholism or preventing people at risk of becoming addicted," he said. Sarkar said.

For this study, the researchers focused on two genes involved in the control of alcohol behavior: PER2, which influences the body's biological clock, and POMC, which regulates our stress response system.

By comparing groups of moderate, occasional and excessive drinkers, the team discovered that both genes had changed in heavy drinkers during an alcohol-influenced gene modification process called methylation, according to the results, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

In addition, excessive and excessive drinkers also showed a reduction in gene expression, or the rate of protein creation by these genes. These changes have increased with greater consumption of alcohol.

In addition, in another experiment, the drinkers viewed images related to stress, neutral or alcohol-related. They were also shown containers of beer and then tasted beer and their motivation to drink was evaluated.

The results showed that alcohol-induced changes in the genes of heavy drinkers and heavy drinkers were badociated with a greater desire for alcohol.

The findings could potentially help researchers identify biomarkers – measurable indicators such as proteins or modified genes – that can predict the risk of excessive consumption of alcohol or alcohol in an individual, Sarkar said. .