Alcohol Related Deaths

Some statements gleaned from Dr.Jurgen Rehm and colleagues' research (as given in an article summary @ http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/cfaa-ss1062609.php) are as follows:

"...alcohol-attributable disorders are among the most disabling disease categories within the global burden of disease..."

World-wide, 4% of deaths are because of alcohol consumption. In Europe, 10%. Of course, this includes the former Soviet Union where it's 15%!

The average global consumption of alcohol is 7 standard drinks per week. A standard drink is the amount of alcohol found in a can of beer, or 13.6 grams of pure ethanol. This average consumption includes all adults - drinkers and abstainers.

Alcohol consumption can cause cancer, heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver and vehicular death as well as other categories of accidents - and injuries.

The complete article can be found in this week's edition of the Lancet.

Malaria and Quinine

Quinine, one of the older treatments for malaria, is not without side-effects. Research now shows that a source for these problems may be quinine's ability to reduce intake of tryptophan. Without this essential amino acid, humans are unable to make new proteins in the numbers needed for optimal health and growth.

There are 6000 genes in yeasts. Researchers have made mutant yeast clones - each one lacking one of these 6000 genes. This research was done using the complete genetic library of clones. They were able to show that two of these strains, both of which were unable to make tryptophan transporters had diminished growth.

To read the article summary, go to: <http://www.eurekalert.org/pub releases/2009-06/asfb-tdm0609.php>.

The complete article will appear in the July 3rd issue of Journal of Biological Chemistry.