While drinking alcohol can be seen as a fun way to bring in the weekend, it could also be dangerous if excessively consumed. For people who enjoy alcoholic beverages but dread the hangover that may follow, there may be a solution.
Instead of taking ibuprofen to cure those horrible hangovers, a new pill has been created that could potentially cure it.
Signs Of A Hangover
According to the Mayo Clinic, a hangover occurs after a person consumes too much alcohol. Though most hangovers go away on their own, they can last up to 24 hours. Signs a person may have a hangover include:
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Shakiness
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
A person should seek medical treatment if their skin turns blue or if they have low-body temperature. Statistically, eight in 10 visits to the emergency room in America are due to alcohol poisoning.
The Hangover Pill
A team of researchers from the University of California decided to create an antidote that would not only allow people to drink and not have to worry about getting a hangover, but also to create a saver way for people to consume alcoholic beverages.
The team was led by Professor Yunfeng Lu, who is a chemical engineering professor at UCLA. The pill, which was filled with natural enzymes, was tested on lab mice. The enzymes are cells that are found in the liver and help a person's body process alcohol faster. This treatment could also be effective for preventing alcohol poisoning, which can sometimes be fatal.
Lu and his team first got the lab mice drunk, they then proceeded to give the mice the treatment. To protect the enzymes, they were wrapped in a shell using material that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved. The researchers then injected the nanocapsules into the veins of the mice.
The team saw a 45 percent decrease in the blood alcohol levels in four hours. This was compared with the mice that weren't treated. The team also noted that the blood concentration of acetaldehyde, which is a highly toxic compound that makes a person throw up, in the mice that were treated remained low as well.
Could This Be The Cure?
Lu's research was created to help assist hospitals. Though the results seem very promising, Lu and his team stress that more research needs to be done before it can assume that the pill has no harmful side effects on humans.
Lu and his team are looking to begin tests on humans within a year.
