Scientists discovered a new Pill that helps Drunk Mice
A newly discovered pill might solve the issue of alcohol poisoning as it reduced blood alcohol level of drunk mice by 45%.
Alcohol is a widely used drug that is considered socially acceptable in many societies of the world. Having said that, the quantity of consumption has a massive impact on the outcome. The thirst of humans for alcohol is extremely old but no one has managed to figure out a way to counter the devastating hangover (after drinking too much of it) that the drinker experiences the next day. George Bernard Shaw described the human love for alcohol in the following words:
“It is the anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life.”
A lot of people don’t consider it an important issue but serious complications are attached heavy drinking. According to an estimate, nearly 10% of the patients who visit emergency rooms in the United States of America are suffering from Acute Alcohol Poisoning. It leads to serious health problems like liver cancer and cardiovascular. Similarly, it is the leading cause of disabilities and premature deaths among American people aged between 15 and 49. In spite of these alarming facts, all the treatments of alcohol overdose are heavily dependent on the body enzymes of the drinker.
It seems as if Yunfeng Lu, a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California and a wine enthusiast, has had enough of that as he arranged the funds for carrying out a research for the solution of this problem. He told the world that he wants to develop an antidote which will allow people to enjoy beer, wine, or cocktails without worrying about a hangover. He is also working on the design of a revolutionary therapy which will treat patients with overdosage and intoxication. He filled capsules with natural enzymes that will assist the body to break down molecules of alcohol at a much faster rate. Lu explained that by saying,
“Inspired by the body’s approach for breaking down alcohol, we chose three natural enzymes that convert alcohol into harmless molecules that are then excreted. That might sound simple because these enzymes were not new, but the tricky part was to figure out a safe, effective way to deliver them to the liver.”
The capsule used for storing these enzymes is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. They are so tiny that they are described as ‘Nanocapsules’ to the world.
All this information came from an essay that was published in ‘The Conversation’. Lu worked with one of his graduate students, Duo Xu, and Professor Cheng Ji, an Expert in Liver Diseases from Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, and came up with a possible treatment of hangover. He tested the prototype on mice and the results are pretty promising. These Nanocapsules were injected into the veins of drunk mice and given the size of these antidotes, it was never a problem. They traveled through the circulatory system to reach liver where they acted as mini-reactors to help in the digestion of alcohol. Lu seemed delighted as he explained the results of their experiment. He said,
“We showed that in inebriated mice (which fall asleep much faster than drunk humans), the treatment decreased the blood alcohol level by 45% in just four hours compared to mice that didn’t receive any.”
Talking about the success of the experiment, Lu mentioned that the blood concentration of acetaldehyde remained incredibly low. These chemical compounds are responsible for the headaches and vomiting that a drinker experiences. They are highly toxic and are categorized as carcinogenic. The impact of the drug was clearly evident as the drug-induced animals woke faster than the untreated mice.
The team of researchers is extremely hopeful that this drug will not only prevent alcohol poisoning but it will also inhibit liver damage as the molecules of alcohol will be broken down quickly and efficiently. They are performing different tests on these capsules in order to ensure that they don’t carry any dangerous side effects. Lu mentioned that there is a potential that they may start treating humans with this drug within 12 months if all their experiments show positive signs.

Computer Scientist by qualification who loves to read, write, eat, and travel