Organs known to be damaged by long-term alcohol misuse include the brain and nervous system, heart, liver and pancreas. Alcohol abuse can have detrimental effects on the body, and the brain is no exception. Excessive alcohol consumption over a long period can lead to alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) or alcohol-related brain injury (ARBI), causing a range of cognitive and functional impairments. The cardiovascular system, in particular, suffers significantly from the effects of addiction, with substances ranging from nicotine to cocaine posing serious risks to heart health.

Health Conditions

• The first phagocytes to be activated are macrophages, which reside in tissues and organs throughout the body.
• It increases the risk of muscle wasting, recurrent gout attacks, and bone fractures, while also reducing bone density.
• This rapid onset increases the risk of acute alcohol poisoning, which occurs at BAC levels above 0.3%, a threshold easily surpassed with this method.

While these insights are exciting, there is much that is still not understood related to the interactions between ethanol and adipose tissue (Table 3). It is critical to keep in mind that there are multiple depots of adipose tissue that can have important localized influence in a number of organs from the liver, to bone, and reproductive organs. At this time, studies related to ethanol have been limited to gonadal, subcutaneous, and mesenteric depots; therefore, further work is necessary.

Cardiovascular system

If an infection does occur, your immune system will try to fight it, although you may need help with medication such as antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and anti-parasitics. However, for reasons researchers don’t understand, sometimes the immune system stops fighting the “invaders,” and begins to turn on itself. Here’s how to know when you need medical help for alcohol detox, plus tips to make sure you’re detoxing as safely and effectively as possible. Search our list of alcohol rehabs and reach out to a center today to get your questions answered. Accurate, complete profiles best connect you with the right people for your services.

• Chronic, heavy ethanol exposure may result in the development of glucose intolerance and insulin resistance (75).
• Alcohol abuse has wide-ranging effects on the body, impacting many organs and systems.
• This can result in a cycle of addiction, where individuals feel compelled to continue using substances to experience pleasure and avoid withdrawal symptoms.
• Similarly, alcohol use has been linked to a high risk of cancer of the colon and rectum.

Roles

Every month, 150,000 people search for addiction or mental health treatment on Recovery.com. Recovery.com combines independent research with expert guidance on addiction and mental health treatment. Our mission is to help everyone find the best path to recovery through the most comprehensive, helpful network of treatment providers worldwide. Alcohol use may also contribute to complications that affect multiple bodily systems, such as certain cancers, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and chronic pain. Alcohol can lead to steatotic liver disease, previously known as fatty liver disease. This can progress to liver fibrosis and eventually cirrhosis, which is permanent and irreversible scarring in the liver.

Alcohol poisoning symptoms and treatment

The liver is a vital organ involved in processing fats, sugars, proteins, and vitamins and in regulating blood clotting. It plays a central role in the body’s defenses, filtering toxins and microbes from the blood and marshaling an array of responses to trauma, stress, or inflammation. To this end, Yang and Luo 26 review the role of ethanol-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress on neurotoxicity.

Substance abuse can have detrimental effects on the brain, leading to both short-term and long-term damage. The use of drugs and alcohol can disrupt normal brain function and alter the delicate balance of neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that facilitate communication between brain cells. It’s important to note that the extent of kidney damage can vary depending on factors such as the type of substance abused, duration of abuse, and individual susceptibility.

• If an infection does occur, your immune system will try to fight it, although you may need help with medication such as antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and anti-parasitics.
• The liver can only handle a certain amount of alcohol consumption while still functioning properly.
• These data indicate that complement activation provides a critical link between ethanol-induced adipocyte apoptosis and the initiation of the inflammatory response (68).
• The liver also manufactures and distributes proteins that fight illnesses, prevent infections, and ensure proper blood clotting.

Even one drink can have an impact on cognitive function, leading to slurred speech, blurred vision, and impaired memory. Heavy drinking can cause long-lasting changes in brain structure and function, and can also affect the developing brains of adolescents and young adults. Alcohol also impacts the liver, metabolism, gut, pancreas, cardiovascular system, and immune system. It increases the risk of muscle wasting, recurrent gout attacks, and bone fractures, while also reducing bone density. Alcohol misuse can lead to pancreatitis, which causes dangerous inflammation in the pancreas.

Understanding the impact of substance abuse on organs is crucial in raising awareness about the potential consequences. By recognizing the harm caused to these vital organs, individuals can make informed decisions and seek appropriate help to prevent further damage and improve their overall health and well-being. Some of the effects are memory loss, difficulty with learning, and emotional disturbances. Neuroimaging studies show that acute alcohol administration affects brain structures implicated in motivation and behavior control, and chronic intoxication chronic ethanol use is correlated with structural and functional abnormalities 51. The cerebral cortex, which is responsible for thinking, senses, and the ability to make good judgments or to think clearly, is often impaired by alcohol.

The damage to the brain from alcohol abuse can manifest in various ways, including problems with Sober living house coordination, thinking, planning, memory, and judgment. The impact on memory and thinking skills can be particularly noticeable, with individuals experiencing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or more severe alcohol-related ‘dementia’. In some cases, ARBD can lead to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which includes symptoms such as short-term memory loss and difficulties with learning new information. Some of these effects are obvious and are the result of the high or low caused by using the drug in question. Initially, substance abuse causes acute alterations in heart rate, blood pressure, and brain function, leading to immediate health risks such as overdoses, accidents, and acute organ stress.