Secrets drink more alcohol is not drunk

Many individuals drink alcohol better than others because they own a special gene, US scientists claim.

Humans have long known that alcoholic beverages can affect our mental behavior and activity. However, scientists have not yet understood the biological mechanisms behind their impact. Many studies have shown that there are some genes that make people like to drink alcohol and be able to neutralize the effects of alcohol. However, identifying those genes is not an easy task.

"People who are extremely sensitive to alcohol may fall into a state of intoxication after drinking a glass of wine, and individuals who can beat many people at an alcoholic party will become an alcoholic , " said Robert. Swift, a psychologist from Brown University, said.

Biologists from the University of California (USA) conduct experiments on alcohol tolerance for fruit flies. They exposed them to alcohol and selected the most alert ones. The results of gene analysis showed that the most awake flies possessed a gene that the others did not. They call that gene 'Happy Hour'. Like humans, the fruit fly's genes are wrapped in chromosome pairs, including sex chromosomes. In females, the sex chromosome pair is XX, while the male is XY. Because of the similarity in genetic structure between humans and flies, the team thinks that 'Happy Hour' also exists in our bodies.

"Those who own the gene can resist the effects of alcohol and drink plenty of alcohol and beer," said Dr. Ulrike Heberlein, the lead researcher. He confirmed that the discovery of the gene 'Happy Hour' could lead to new measures in the treatment of alcoholism. "We can turn off genes to increase the alcoholic sensitivity of alcoholics, making them unable to drink as much as before. We now have many drugs that can do this," he explained.

In the human body there is a protein that stimulates cell growth. Epidermal growth factor - the name of this protein - plays an important role in the development of cancer. Scientists believe that 'Happy Hour' has the ability to control the activity of epidermal growth factor. Some anti-cancer drugs, like Tarceva and Iressa, have the same effect.

When mice took Tarceva, the researchers became more sensitive to alcohol and less to drink. However, when exposed to non-alcoholic beverages, the amount of liquid they put into the body did not change compared to when not taking the drug. Thus, in the short term, scientists can use Tarceva and Iressa to treat alcoholism.