2023-05-19 07:49:16
To forget regarding chronic pain, it can be tempting to consume alcohol. However, the drink might amplify the phenomenon.
Chronic pain can take many forms. It can be a headache, persistent discomfort in the leg or any other part of the body. Since pain feels the same for more than 6 monthswe speak of chronic pain.
But this permanent discomfort can be very difficult to live with on a daily basis. In order to attenuate it or forget it for a few hours, the persons concerned have as alcohol drinking reflex. And this strange phenomenon was the starting point of a study published today in the British Journal of Pharmacology.
However, it shed light on the fact that consuming alcohol might aggravate the sensation of pain.
The more frequent and heavy the alcohol consumption, the greater the chronic pain.
The study was conducted on three groups of mice according to their alcohol dependence. Indeed, the first group was alcoholic, the second group drank “in moderation and the last did not drink. Then the researchers compared the effects of alcohol on the animals’ pain or consumption.
The results reveal that the dependent mice tolerated weaning very poorly. Besides, the animals suffered from allodynia, ie pain caused by technically non-painful factors. And to calm the effects of allodynia, they always drank more alcohol.
Thus the researchers highlighted a vicious circle where the pain pushes to drink to forget and so on. But this bad habit also has another consequence on the brain: it changes the perception of pain and even damages some nerves. In fact, those concerned have the feeling of being in pain all the time.
A phenomenon of inflammatory origin?
If researchers are trying to understand the origin of this phenomenon, the first hypotheses point to “inflammatory responses”. Indeed, the researchers noticed the presence of molecules in greater quantity in alcohol-consuming mice. And these are non-existent in mice that are sober but suffer from regular pain.
According to their findings, alcohol consumption might trigger reactions in the body that make you believe in new pain. And it would cause patients to drink more and more to give a sense of calm for a few hours. Currently, researchers therefore wish to continue research on the subject with a view to developing a future treatment.
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