Alcohol ‘good for head injuries’

By Lucy Halfhead  on Tuesday 22 September 2009

• Print
• Share
• Comment

A dose of alcohol may be a good treatment for people with head injuries, new research has revealed.



After studying more than 38,000 head trauma patients, medical experts in Los Angeles have discovered that people appear less likely to die following brain trauma if they have alcohol in their bloodstream. This could be because alcohol dampens the body's inflammatory response to injury, the US team told Archives of Surgery.



But this news is not an excuse to binge drink: experts also stressed that alcohol can cause medical complications and is a contributing factor to many accidents. However, if the correct dose of alcohol is administered, it can stop the cascade of swelling, inflammation and further destruction of brain cells, known as secondary brain injury.  On the flip side, patients with alcohol in their bloodstream were more likely to experience medical complications during their hospital stay.



Commenting on the findings, Dr John Heyworth, president of the College of Emergency Medicine, told BBC News: ‘This is a long way from thinking about giving alcohol to patients in A&E. But if, in the future, the science and evidence proves that it would be beneficial, we would consider it.'



Professor Michael Oddy, of the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust, said: ‘Despite the intriguing findings the message must be the same - if you wish to avoid a brain injury, use alcohol with care and moderation.'



CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH NEWS

Tuesday 22 September 2009

Have your say ...

↓   ↓

Name

↓   ↓

E-Mail

↓   ↓

Your comments

↓   ↓

Please enter the characters in the image:

IPC Media Limited owner of marieclaire.co.uk will collect your personal information solely to process your request.

Post

• Next Article

  

  'Alesha's great' says Strictly's Mr... Read more...

• Last Article

  

  Call to get tough on eating disorder sites Read more...