Effects of alcohol hangover on cytokine production in healthy subjects

Dai Jin Kim, Won Kim, Su Jung Yoon, Bo Moon Choi, Jung Soo Kim, Hyo Jin Go, Yong Ku Kim, Jaeseung Jeong

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

82 Scopus citations

Abstract

A hangover is the syndrome of physical and mental symptoms that occurs 8 to 16 h after alcohol consumption with a zero level of alcohol. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of the alcohol hangover on cytokine production in healthy subjects. The hangover state was defined as 13 h after drinking 1.5 g/kg of alcohol (blood alcohol level=0). A venous blood sample was taken from 20 healthy adult men before consumption of alcohol and during the hangover state. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were separated and stimulated with phytohemagglutinin. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the production of the following cytokines: interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). We found that the concentrations of IL-10, IL-12, and IFN-γ were significantly increased during the hangover state compared with the concentrations in normal conditions. These results support the suggestion that the dysregulated cytokine pathway (IL-10, IL-12, and IFN-γ) is associated with the symptoms of hangovers.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)167-170
Number of pages4
JournalAlcohol
Volume31
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2003

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by grants from Doosan Corporation (Seoul, South Korea: alcohol company) and Creative Research Initiatives of the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology. We thank Hye-Kyung Cho and Sun-Hee Kim for assistance with the experiments (Clinical Research Lab, Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital, Daejeon, South Korea).

Keywords

  • Alcohol
  • Cytokine
  • Hangover

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