University Vet School researcher Masami Yoshimura is currently researching the effects of alcohol on the body at the cellular level. Yoshimura is studying how changes to the physical structure of the cyclase molecule can affect memory and can be a determining factor of alcoholism.
 
Yoshimura’s research deals with how alcohol affects certain enzymes in the body.
Yoshimura and his team are currently using X-ray technology to view how alcohol changes the physical structure of the cyclase molecule in order to isolate exactly which part of the enzyme is affected by alcohol consumption.
Alcohol consumption raises the amount of cyclase enzymes in the body. These enzymes affect neurons in the brain that cause the euphoric feeling one gets while drinking alcohol, Yoshimura said.
A high amount of these enzymes can also cause memory loss commonly experienced during heavy alcohol consumption, Yoshimura said.
However, this can be dangerous because the number of these specific enzymes in the body can kill brain cells and cause the brain to lose neurons. The body also has to readjust to its pre-inebriated state, which is a dangerous process, according to Yoshimura.
But it’s continuous drinking that is a problem — not the occasional night out. When people drink continually, the entire brain adjusts to the presence of alcohol in the body, but the body doesn’t have enough time to recover. This causes the body to function normally when exposed to alcohol, Yoshimura said.
This means that the body is so used to the high amount of the cyclase enzyme, the body is actually functioning with less cyclase than it is used to when sober.
The need for cyclase can lead to alcohol dependence and possibly even alcoholism later in life, according to Yoshimura.
Morgan McGuiness, business marketing sophomore, said alcoholism is prevalent in her family, and she’s no stranger to the dangers of alcohol.
“I’m aware of it, and I keep it in my head, like, do I really need to go out,” said McGuiness about the risk of drinking.
The Pew Research Center reports in a 2006 survey that 37 percent of Americans 18 to 49 years of age believe drinking excessively is not a moral issue.
Yoshimura said the cyclase enzyme can even be a genetic indicator of alcoholism. Vet school researchers have found alcoholics typically have lower amounts of adenylyl cyclase. This causes alcoholics to drink more to get the desired effects of alcohol.
“Drink responsibly. Alcohol has benefits — health benefits — but too much is bad,” Yoshimura said.
 
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