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How is alcohol neurotoxic?

That explanation of addiction and THIQ is a bit freakin simplistic, there is a lot more too it than that.

Meanwhile, alcohols neurotoxic mechanism isn't really know, but it's usually put down to alcohol being reactive, its metabolites being more reactive, and alcohol just generally fowling up cellular biochemistry.
 
Well, alcohols addictive nature is limited in comparison to the opiates... and this is mirrored by the fact that alcohol induces a much lower increase in dopamine release in the 'reward pathway' than the opiates.

Now while there is a complex interplay between dopamine and endogenous opiates in the brain, and hence trying to seperate endogenous opioids and dopamine is very difficult, 'addictive' drugs will still be administered under a large block of opioid receptors (except for opioids, for obvious reasons). In regards to this example, while an opioid antagonist does reduce the intake of alcohol slightly, it does not block it, (like an opioid or a nicotinic antagonist blocks an opiate or nicotine respectively). Indeed, this is reflected by the fact that although an opioid antagonist reduces the increase in dopamine induced by alcohol, it does not block it. Infact, an opioid antagonist causes a decrease in dopamine levels no matter what an animal is doing.

Now, that comments on the more general idea of opioids in addiction, but the same facts can still be applied to the idea of THIQ. If it mediated the 'addictive' qualities of alcohol, an opioid antagonist would block alcohol consumption.
 
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Apparently acetaldehyde is also found in:

- Yoghurt
- Cigarette smoke
- Marijuana Smoke
Click to expand...

I'm not suggesting you smoke ya yoghurt ;) but filtering tobacco and marijuana smoke through water will remove this nasty chemical.

Dr. Gary Huber at the University of Texas and colleagues from Harvard's School of Public Health conducted a cellular toxicity study of marijuana and tobacco smoke.8 This research group showed that passing marijuana or tobacco smoke through water, or even exposing the smoke to a wetted surface of about 48 square inches, effectively removed substances (acrolein and acetaldehyde) which are toxic to alveolar macrophages. Alveolar macrophages are one of the major defense cells of the lung and are an important component of the immune system. When the macrophages were exposed to smoke that was not water filtered, there was a marked impairment of their capacity to kill bacteria. When the smoke was water-filtered, however, there was no reduction in the bactericidal ability of the macrophages, suggesting that marijuana smoke that has been passed through sufficient water will have less impact on the immune system than marijuana smoke that has not been water-filtered. This intriguing finding would be of particular importance when treating patients with the AIDS wasting syndrome.
Click to expand...

From Rhodium Pharmacology
 
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