Using mice as the animal experiment, the researchers analyze chromosome and DNA to see genetic damage induced by acetaldehyde, a chemical the body generated when digesting alcohol.
These findings are explained in detail about the increased risk of 7 types of cancer in someone who likes consuming alcoholic beverages. The results of this study also showed the defense mechanism of the body in the face of adverse effect caused by alcoholic beverages.
According to Ketan Patel, one of the researchers from the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, some cancers are caused by damage to the DNA of the stem cells and alcoholic beverages increases the risk of damage.
The body of the World Health (WHO) itself has been the inclusion of alcohol in a group 1 substances cause cancer (carcinogens). According to Whom, the alcohol meets the requirements as substances that proved conclusively can cause cancer in humans.
In this study, Patel and his comrades give alcoholic beverages already diluted to rats and then do an analysis of the impact of the drinks on the DNA of mice. They find, damaging DNA and break down acetaldehyde in the blood stem cells. This damage causes a disruption of the function of the DNA permanently.
This stem cell DNA damage becomes important because this is where the forerunner of the occurrence of an increased risk of cancer in someone who consumes alcoholic beverages.
At this time the study, the researchers also tried to figure out the defense mechanism of the body facing the damage caused by alcohol. The body’s first defense is to manufacture aldehyde dehydrogenates or ALDH enzyme. This broke the Enzyme acetaldehyde into acetate is used as a source of cell energy.
In this study, after being given a drink, a mouse that his levels of ALDH enzyme low DNA damage four times greater when compared to mice that levels of ALDH enzyme him normal.
In addition, the cell itself has a self defense against DNA damage. The cell will soon fix it yourself DNA damages that occurs. However, sometimes this improvement process does not take place in accordance with expectations. The failure repair of DNA of cells is mostly occurs in resident who lives in the continent of Asia.