ConsumeAlcoholic beverages in excess is harmful to human bones, especially for thehealing after suffering a bone fracture, because alcohol reduces the presence of mineral in its structure. This is clear from a study carried out by researchers at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago (USA), which provides an idea of how alcohol slows healing at the cellular and molecular levels.
In the experiments, a group of rodents was exposed to levels of alcohol equivalent to three times the legal limit for driving, while a control group was exposed to identical amounts of a saline solution. The analyzes showed that callus, the hard bone tissue that forms around the ends of fractured bones, was less mineralized in rodents that had consumed alcohol, and the bone that formed was not as strong.
During the healing process,the body sends immature stem cells to a fracture siteand, after reaching the site, the stem cells mature into bone cells.Two proteins, known as SDF -1 and OPN, are involved in stem cell recruitmentfor the site of injury, but in the group of mice exposed to alcohol, OPN levels were significantly lower.
In addition, the mice exposed to alcohol showed signs ofoxidative stress, a process that affects normal cellular functions, as they had significantly higher levels of malondialdehyde, a marker of this type of stress.
The researchers now propose two possible treatments to counteract the negative effects of alcohol on bone healing: injecting stem cells into mice to improve healing and administering NAC, an antioxidant that fights oxidative stress. If these therapies are effective for heavy alcohol users, they may also speed healing in nondrinkers, the study authors note.
