Mice get hangover cure

Everyone wants a better way to get sober and avoid the terrible pains of a next-day hangover.  Well, maybe it’s just those of us who enjoy a bit too much to drink that really want it, but it’s still in high demand.  Now, it looks like some researchers working out of the University of California at Los Angeles may be on the way to developing just such a miracle.  And though the technique is still in its beginning, mice-testing stages, it looks promising that a better hangover cure will be making its way into human hands in the near future.

These innovative scientists have improved upon the art of putting together enzyme clusters and using said clusters to speed up metabolism in mice, thus allowing alcohol to be processed quicker through their bodies.  I’m not even going to pretend that I understand the ridiculously complex science behind it, but basically it involves creating structures of enzymes called nanocomplexes and having them influence the way the body moves alcohol through the system. 

The main problem thus far has been that scientists have been unable to get the nanocomplexes to hold together and do their jobs properly.  This breakthrough keeps the complexes stable and may potentially be used for way more than just getting people sober.  If you feel like taking a shot at the PhD science of it, check out this article.

In the end, the introduction of the enzymes produced a reduction of up to 37 percent in the alcohol content of the mice over the course of three hours.  It’s not exactly a “get-sober-quick” pill, but it does have some nice benefits. In addition to reducing potential liver damage from over-drinking, it would help people to sleep better.  According to a study related by io9.com, going to bed with alcohol in your system is a major source of sleep issues and a lot of the reason you feel like rubbish the morning after a bender.  Faster metabolization could help to alleviate this.

The next step for the research will be finding out how to get rid of the toxins produced by the treatment, in order to make it more viable.  Those involved don’t see this as much of a problem, however.  Now that they’ve figured out how to keep the nanocomplexes stable, it’s just a matter of figuring out which enzymes they’ll need to use to get the results they’re looking for.

As a side note, another project that they’re currently working on via their nanocomplex breakthrough involves removing the hormone in men that causes hair loss.  That’s right, an injection that may stop you from losing your hair.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - science is freakin’ awesome.

Hungover photo courtesy of Alvaro Canivell via Wikicommons