Double Scotch now, we’re losing him!
Published: 22 September, 2009, 17:32
TAGS: Health, SciTech, Thrills&Spills
The belief that drunken folk have a guardian angel of their own may have some real basis. Statistical data shows that surviving a head injury is more probable if you have ethanol in your blood.
In a study, Ali Salim of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and his team have gathered data on 38,000 cases of head injuries. Victims who had drunk alcohol before receiving their trauma were more likely to survive than their sober counterparts, the researchers found. The proportion was 100 to 88, reports New Scientist.
"The finding raises the intriguing possibility that administering ethanol to patients with brain injuries may improve outcome," say the investigators.
So far there is no conclusive evidence as to how alcohol protects the brain from damage, if it at all. Some scientists suggest that it is by moderating the adrenaline rush and the hormone’s effect on brain. Animal tests showed it may be beneficial, but only in small doses, while high doses actually increase the risk of death.
The researchers also stressed that while a drink or two may help you survive an incident, they are also likely to get you into one in the first place.
"Alcohol is and will always continue to be bad, since it contributes to over 40 per cent of traffic-related fatalities," Salim said.
The same study suggests that drinkers suffered more complications and their injuries were more serious, even though their survival rate was higher.
22.09.2009, 16:42
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I love this one, we know brain cooling with ice works, now bring on the alcohol. So it's a drink and pack them with ice. Put the patient on the rocks, shaken not stirred of course. Or does this explain why some husbands go home drunk to their wives, is it just survival kicking in! Hit me i'm drunk, or is it the wife kicking in. Or does it mean drink driving is safer, or at least being a drunk passenger is a good safety strategy.