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+--- Thread: Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction (/showthread.php?tid=62721)
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Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Eos - 2013-02-22
I am one of the lucky people who lack the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme and therefore cannot metabolize alcohol at all. Now science has found a way to inflict that condition on people for 6 months at a time as "therapy". Yay me! I'm therapeutic.
http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681344/a-new-vaccine-for-drinking-could-keep-alcoholics-sober
Quote:The vaccine builds on what happens naturally in certain people--about 20% of the Japanese, Chinese, and Korean population--with an alcohol intolerance mutation. Normally, the liver breaks down alcohol into an enzyme thats transformed into the compound acetaldehyde (responsible for that nasty hangover feeling), which in turn is degraded by another enzyme. The acetaldehyde doesnt usually have time to build up before its broken down. But people with the alcohol intolerance mutation lack the ability to produce that second enzyme; acetaldehyde accumulates, and they feel terrible.
Asenjo and his colleagues have come up with a way to stop the synthesis of that second enzyme via a vaccine, mimicking the mutation that sometimes happens naturally. "People have this mutation all over the world. Its like how some people cant drink milk," explains Asenjo.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Takebacker - 2013-02-22
Woah awesome. Go science. And eos
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Razmos - 2013-02-22
That's really cool, it would definitely be a lot more effective than simple therapy. removing the reason they drink in the first place would definitely make them able to live without it.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Curtiss - 2013-02-22
That is incredible.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Flonne - 2013-02-22
If it is voluntary only, I'm all for it, but if it were forced onto someone, that's too much like big brother saying "you can't drink so we are going to make it so you don't even have the option", to me.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Eos - 2013-02-22
Flonne Wrote:If it is voluntary only, I'm all for it, but if it were forced onto someone, that's too much like big brother saying "you can't drink so we are going to make it so you don't even have the option", to me.
What if certain religions mandated it as a part of their belief system as a means to protect their flock from temptation?
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Razmos - 2013-02-22
Flonne Wrote:If it is voluntary only, I'm all for it, but if it were forced onto someone, that's too much like big brother saying "you can't drink so we are going to make it so you don't even have the option", to me.I doubt they'd force it on people, all said and done it's, what, an injection at the very least? they would definitely need consent for that.
Even with this breakthrough, there would still need to be interventions, some therapy and then they would get the option to do so. 6 months of going cold turkey could destroy some people.
I think anyone that is willing to consent to the treatment deserves to get clean, because it wouldn't be an easy thing to do.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Curtiss - 2013-02-22
Razmos Wrote:I doubt they'd force it on people, all said and done it's, what, an injection at the very least? they would definitely need consent for that.
Even with this breakthrough, there would still need to be interventions, some therapy and then they would get the option to do so. 6 months of going cold turkey could destroy some people.
I think anyone that is willing to consent to the treatment deserves to get clean, because it wouldn't be an easy thing to do.
Exactly, it's already said to be a drastic treatment which means subjecting unwilling patients could cause adverse effects beyond what any consenting patient would feel. Also, this wouldn't be enough to get them off the habit once it's over so there therapy and counselling may still need to be used and there's nearly no point in making someone go if they didn't ask to be cured, destructive as their habit might be.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Maping - 2013-02-22
inb4 Westboro hating on this.
Seriously though, this is really cool. Mankind, solving alcoholism by giving vbe a disease (technically a medical condition, by my way sounds cooler).
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - DustinxD - 2013-02-22
That's pretty awesome; it's great news for a ton of people.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Flonne - 2013-02-22
Eos Wrote:What if certain religions mandated it as a part of their belief system as a means to protect their flock from temptation?
Yeah, that's exactly the sort of thing I'm afraid of with this.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Maping - 2013-02-22
Flonne Wrote:Yeah, that's exactly the sort of thing I'm afraid of with this.
Well, if people are choosing that religion (not going to get into people being forced into a religion), then most of the time, they would agree with the religion's policy on alcohol. It's the leaders mandating it, sure, but only so the people don't break the rules of their own religion. If some way of preventing people from being able to kill was offered, most Catholics would use it even without the Pope ordering it.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Razmos - 2013-02-22
Would organized religion even have access to this stuff though?
You'd think the state and medical laws would keep this stuff for the people who needed it, not for the people who aren't alcoholics by choice.
I'm pretty sure the idea of a religion forcing it on people is kinda moot. What other religions force medicine on people? o.o
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - VerrKol - 2013-02-22
I think at this point the hypothetical religion is the problem, not the scientific treatment method.
This seems like it could be a really great tool.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Eos - 2013-02-22
Razmos Wrote:Would organized religion even have access to this stuff though?
You'd think the state and medical laws would keep this stuff for the people who needed it, not for the people who aren't alcoholics by choice.
If corporations can have mandatory drug screenings and flu vaccinations I'm sure a church could find a way to get their people vaccination against alcoholism in the same way.
It would not surprise me to find some companies making this a condition of employment even, it's one step better than drug screening because it actually prevents one entire avenue of intoxication for jobs like pilots and doctors where you're not supposed to be drinking while on call anyway and can seriously endanger people by doing so.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Five Second Pose - 2013-02-22
Eos Wrote:What if certain religions mandated it as a part of their belief system as a means to protect their flock from temptation?
Even if I wasn't religious, the concept of alcohol doesn't seem fun at all to me.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Maping - 2013-02-22
Five Second Pose Wrote:Even if I wasn't religious, the concept of alcohol doesn't seem fun at all to me.
I agree. I doubt I will ever drink (much), if only because I know what being drunk can cause, let alone alcoholism.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - Takebacker - 2013-02-22
Maping Wrote:I agree. I doubt I will ever drink (much), if only because I know what being drunk can cause, let alone alcoholism.
Beer can be delicious. All i'm going to say.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - happylight - 2013-02-22
They should work on the reverse of this. Make a drug so people can drink more and not get sick.
Science cures Alcoholics by giving them my affliction - MariettaRC - 2013-02-22
Takebacker Wrote:Beer can be delicious. All i'm going to say.
I'm more of a fruity/mixed drinker myself. Though I haven't had beer ever since I was curious enough to try some when I was like 8.
But you will never see me drink more than once a month at most...On topic, this is a pretty neat discovery. Hangovers SUCK, and this definitely gives people a reason to not drink.
happylight Wrote:They should work on the reverse of this. Make a drug so people can drink more and not get sick.
Now how would that be helpful in any way? :f6: