In the Encyclopedia of Medicine there is an article on "Alcohol-related neurologic disease". Alcohol has a direct toxic affect on nerve and muscle cells; it also damages the brain, peripheral nerves, and muscles. Alcohol can lead to memory loss, seizures, weakness, and incoordination. There are many different alcohol-related neurologic diseases which include: Wernicke-Korsakeoff disease, alcoholic cebellar degeneration, and alcoholic myopathy. These all have the same causes, which is drinking a fatal dose of alcohol. Symptoms include: insomnia, fever, respiratory failure, seizures, vomiting,double vision, and these all lead to death or chronic longterm irreversible damage to any level of the nervous system. The best prevention requires abstinence from alcohol, but persons who consume small or moderate amounts of alcohol decrease risks for neurologic complications of alcohol use. People find it hard to quit drinking, because it's very addictive. The definition of addiction by the article is "a dependence, on a behavior or substance, that a person is powerless to stop." (40). People who are addicted need to find help by talking to a family member, friend, or a doctor.
I chose this topic to research because all of the other sources talk about how awful alcohol is for your body when abused. I decided to learn more, and look in the Encyclopedia of Medicine. I learned a lot about how the long term effects of alcohol eventually lead to disease. I also agree about how abstinence and moderation are the best way to handle alcohol. This was a great article that I enjoyed reading.
Olendorf, Donna. The Gale Encyclopedia of Medine. "Alcohol-related Neurologic Disease." 6 vols. Famington Hills: Gale Research, 1999.
Nice 50/50
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