Social drinking

At Amuse, a handsome lounge and restaurant in Chelsea that was formerly the Tonic until it was renovated and reopened two weeks ago by Gerry Hayden, its chef and an owner, a table of twenty people in their twenties and thirties sat in the bar and lounge area on Wednesday, socializing, drinking and eating side orders or desserts. No one had plans for dinner, not even next door, in Mr. Hayden s attractive dining room. 

Anton RF, Pettinati H, Zweben A, et al A multi-site dose ranging study of nalmefene in the treatment of alcohol dependence. J Clin Psychopharmacol 24 421 28, 2004 Aragon CM, Stotland LM, Amit Z Studies on ethanol-brain catalase interaction evidence for central ethanol oxidation. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 15 165-169, 1991 Arizzi MN, Correa M, Betz AJ, et al Behavioral effects of intraventricular injections of low doses of ethanol, acetaldehyde, and acetate in rats studies with low and high rate operant schedules. Behav Brain Res 147 203—210, 2003 Azrin NH, Sisson RW, Meyers R, et al Alcoholism treatment by disulfiram and community reinforcement therapy. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 13 105—112, 1982 Babor TF, Kranzler HR, Lauerman RL Social drinking as a health and psychosocial risk factor Anstie s limit revisited, in Recent Developments in Alcoholism, Vol 5. Edited by Galanter M. New York, Plenum, 1987, pp 373 02... 

Another, perhaps less dramatic condition, is the effect of social drinking after a very short period of starvation. A period of eating a high protein, low carbohydrate meal for several days, followed by a missed breakfast and a late lunch might result in a low level of liver glycogen. If now, lunch is preceded by alcoholic drinks, hypoglycaemia could readily develop, and, if severe, could lead to coma with possible... 

When Bill W. and Dr. Bob founded AA, alcoholism had not been accepted as a disease, either by society at large or by the medical profession. Society considered it a moral problem, but found itself confronted with an interesting dilemma, for only a small proportion of the total drinking society drank excessively. No moral sanctions were required for the majority, who eventually made social drinking an integral part of the culture. 

Effects of low doses of alcohol are considered to be not as dramatic as those of heavy drinking. The occurrence of teratogenic effects decreases when addicted women cut down on alcohol intake or stop drinking altogether after the first trimester (refs. 51, 52). However, McLeod et al. (ref. 60)) found a disappearance followed by a decreased level of fetal breathing movements for 3 hours after the intake of a low dose of alcohol (0.25 g/kg). Therefore, if these movements have a function in the development of the fetus, regular social drinking may have some noxious effects as well. In addition, rat studies have shown that postnatal ethanol treatment can still cause... 

Other factors can lead to alcoholism, too. Family, school, workplace, and community conditions may play a part. The drug itself may be a major factor, since it can alter the body s neurochemistry and instill craving. Some people progress very quickly from social drinking to alcoholism, while others develop the disease over a period of decades. —... 

One of the clearest signs of alcoholism is repeated drinking to get drunk. Alcoholics cannot limit their intake to a social drink or IwO they invariably go much further. Rut drunkenness isn t much fun, either at the time or the following day. Why then, do so many people consume overdoses of alcohol ... 

Vogel-Sprott, M. (1992). Alcohol tolerance and social drinking lj arning the consequences. 

Mothers who report only social drinking may have children with fetal alcohol effects, a less severe form of fetal alcohol syndrome. This milder form is characterized by a reduced birth weight, some learning disabilities, and behavioral problems. 

Social drinking of alcohol (fewer than 2 drinks a day) should not cause any side effects unless you already have a liver problem. However, drinking too much alcohol can cause the medicine to leave your body fester, which will decrease the effectiveness of the medicine. If you drink more than tw o drinks a day. you should tell your doctor so that different medicines can be pre.scribed. 

Moderate social drinking does not appear to affect the serum levels of carbamazepine, ethosuximide or phenytoin. Some small changes are seen in the serum levels of phenobarbital and sodium valproate, but no changes in the control of epilepsy seem to occur. No pharmacokinetic interaction was detected between tiagabine and alcohol, and tiagabine did not alter the cognitive effect of alcohol. The adverse effects of both alcohol and antiepileptics, such as enhanced sedation, may be additive. 

Moderate social drinking does not affect the serum levels of carbamazepine. Heavy drinking may possibly increase the metabolism of carbamazepine, and this may be further increased in alcoholics who abstain from drinking alcohol... 

Acute alcohol intake may possibly increase serum phenytoin levels, but moderate social drinking appears to have little clinical effect. However, chronic heavy drinking reduces serum phenytoin levels so that above-average doses of phenytoin may be needed to maintain adequate levels. 

Snel J and Lorist MM (eds.) (1998) Nicotine, Caffeine and Social Drink, Behaviour and Brain Function. Amsterdam Harwood Academic. 

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