If you had a few too many drinks when celebrating Thanksgiving yesterday, you might be feeling the aftermath. But in a new study, researchers say they have discovered a “breakthrough” drug that may reduce the brain-damaging effects of binge drinking.

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Researchers say a drug called ethane-beta-sultam could reduce the brain-damaging effects of binge drinking.

Binge drinking – defined as drinking four or more drinks in one session for women and five or more drinks in one session for men – is the most common form of excessive alcohol use in the US.

Around 90% of alcohol consumed by youths under the age of 21 is in the form of binge drinking, while 1 in 6 adults engage in binge drinking around four times a month – consuming an average of eight drinks in one session.

Many individuals who engage in heavy bouts of binge drinking may experience some side effects. Although often passed off as a “hangover,” these side effects may be doing more damage than you realize.

According to the research team – including Prof. Mike Page of the University of Huddersfield in the UK – binge drinking can cause brain cell loss and inflammation, which can lead to long-term brain damage. The researchers say this effect may be more prominent in adolescents, whose brains are still developing.

But in their study – published in the Journal of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence – the team reveals how a new compound called ethane-beta-sultam reduced the brain-damaging effects of binge drinking in rats.

Getting drugs to the brain is challenging; drugs need to get through the blood-brain barrier – a membrane that protects the brain from potentially harmful chemicals – to be effective. Most drugs fail in their attempt, which is partly why it remains difficult to treat neurological disorders.

Fast facts about binge drinking
  • Around 92% of adults in the US who drink excessively report binge drinking in the past 30 days
  • Although binge drinking is more common among younger adults, those over the age of 65 binge drink more frequently – around 5-6 times a month
  • Men are twice as likely to binge drink than women.

Learn more about alcohol consumption

But Prof. Page and colleagues say ethane-beta-sultam can break through this blood-brain barrier.

They explain that during a binge-drinking session, the number of glial cells – believed to play a role in blood-brain barrier development – increases in an attempt to protect the brain from alcohol.

But the team found that when they gave an ethane-beta-sultam supplement to binge-drinking rats each time they consumed alcohol, the compound reduced the number of glial cells in the brain. As a result, the drug was able to enter the brain and reduce inflammation and loss of brain cells.

What is more, the rats that received ethane-beta-sultam showed a better working memory when tested in a water maze, compared with rats that did not receive the compound.

The prevalence of binge drinking in the US has increased, from 14.2% of adults in 1993 to 17.1% in 2010.

Prof. Page admits that the team’s research may come under fire for creating a drug that potentially masks the effects of binge drinking. “But if you accept that alcohol abuse is going to continue, then it might be sensible for society to try and treat it in some way,” he adds.

The researchers say ethane-beta-sultam may not be limited to reducing the effects of binge drinking. Because it is able to get through the blood-brain barrier, it could also lead to new treatments for neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Medical News Today recently reported on a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which revealed that most people who engage in excessive drinking – defined as heavy drinking, binge drinking or any alcohol consumption by a pregnant woman or any person under the age of 21 – are not alcohol dependent.