Liver
fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, or cirrhosis.
Fatty liver= The liver becomes full of fat, which shows recent drinking. Can be reversed.
Alcoholic Hepatitis=In some alcoholics, continued alcohol consumption leads to the development of alcoholic hepatitis. This is a more serious condition which, in its most severe form, can be life threatening. Biopsy reveals widespread inflammation of the liver and the increasing destruction of hepatic tissue (necrosis). An individual with this condition experiences jaundice, abdominal pain, and often, fever. This disorder may progress to liver failure. The reversibility of alcoholic hepatitis is variable and depends upon the severity of the condition. Residual scarring of the liver, however, may persist, even if the individual maintains complete abstinence.
Cirrhosis= The most advanced form of hepatic degeneration is alcoholic cirrhosis, which is characterized by diffuse scarring of the liver. The cell damage induced by alcohol and, possibly, by its metabolites provokes active proliferation of connective tissue, which results in septa that dissect the liver and interfere with the flow of blood. Portal hypertension may develop from increased resistance to blood flow; esophageal varices may occur as a secondary complication of the obstructed blood flow. The subsequent regeneration of liver cells occurs in a disorganized fashion, disrupting the architecture of the liver.
Impaired liver function contributes to the development of secondary complications: kidney failure, changes in blood chemistry and blood clotting, gastrointestinal bleeding, brain disorders, and ascites, an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the abdomen. The progressive deterioration of the liver in cirrhosis caused by chronic alcoholic consumption may culminate in death from liver failure.
Muscles and Heart tissues
These morphological changes in muscle tissue are associated with weakness after chronic alcohol consumption.
The heart is a muscular organ that may be damaged by chronic alcohol use. Clinicians have noted that chronic alcoholism is associated with congestive cardiomyopathy. In an effort to reveal the basis for the link between these two disorders, investigators hypothesized that alcohol may have the same damaging effect on heart muscle as on skeletal muscle.
The Brain
Within the brain, nerve cells communicate through chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters.
Alcohol inhibits these neurotransmitters and messes up the signals going through the brain. The alcohol destroys memory, and impairs learning. Seizure activity may also occur. Impairs all brain activity, including thought, actions, and decisions.
The Cell Membrane
The cell membrane is made up of a phospholipid bilayer. The lipids are fats. Alcohol, a lipid soluble agent, can penetrate the membrane and commingle with the lipid and protein constituents. The anesthetic properties of alcohol have been attributed to alcohol's ability to permeate the membrane of nerve cells in the brain and disorder their structure, thereby impairing their function.
Chronic alcohol consumption may lead to the development of tolerance and physical dependence. Resistance to the effects of alcohol at the cellular level may explain the development of tolerance that occurs with chronic alcohol exposure. Altered sensitivity to alcohol may result either from the adaptation of cellular membranes to alcohol's chronic perturbing effects or from alterations in the function of membrane proteins, or both. Several investigators have observed that membranes become resistant to the disordering effect of alcohol with chronic exposure (Chin and Goldstein 1977; Ponnappa et al. 1982; Waring et al. 1981; Taraschi and Rubin 1985); this phenomenon is referred to as "membrane tolerance."
