Does Binge Drinking Prevent Bone Fractures from Healing?

Did you know that binge drinking is the most common pattern of excessive drinking in the United States? According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, they define binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings a person's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 grams percent or above. This typically happens when men consume 5 or more drinks and when women consume 4 or more in the span of an hour.

And statistics show that as many as one in six U.S. adults binge drunk about four times a month, consuming about eight drinks per binge.

A recent study looks at how this excessive pattern of drinking can impair the healing process of bone fractures.

According to study researchers at Loyola University Medical Center, they looked into how alcohol slows the healing on both the cellular and molecular levels. They note that these findings could potentially lead to improved bone treatments in alcohol abusers and even non-drinkers, alike.

Lead study author Roman Natoli, MD, PhD, will present his findings at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2013 Annual Meeting in Baltimore.

"Many bone fractures are alcohol-related, due to car accidents, falls, shootings, etc.," Natoli said, via a press release. "In addition to contributing to bone fractures, alcohol also impairs the healing process. So add this to the list of reasons why you should not abuse alcohol."

The researchers examined the effects that alcohol consumption has on bone healing in mice. One group of mice were exposed to alcohol levels that were roughly equivalent to three times the legal limit for driving, while the control group was exposed to equal amounts of saline solution.

The study found three ways in which alcohol impaired bone healing after a fracture, courtesy of the release.

• There were differences between the control group and the alcohol-exposed group in the callus, the hard bony tissue that forms around the ends of fractured bones. In the alcohol-exposed group, the callus was less mineralized, meaning not as much bone was forming. Moreover, the bone that did form was not as strong.
• Mice exposed to alcohol showed signs of oxidative stress, a process that impairs normal cellular functions. The alcohol-exposed mice had significantly higher levels of malondialdehyde, a molecule that serves as a marker for oxidative stress. Additionally, levels of an enzyme that decreases oxidative stress, super oxide dismutase, were higher in the alcohol-exposed mice (but not quite high enough to be considered statistically significant).
• During the healing process, the body sends immature stem cells to a fracture site. After arriving at the site, the stem cells mature into bone cells. Two proteins, known as SDF-1 and OPN, are involved in recruiting stem cells to the injury site. In the alcohol-exposed group, OPN levels were significantly lower.

Natoli plans to do an animal-model study of two potential treatments in order to counter the negative effects of alcohol on bone healing, according to background information from the study. One treatment would involve injecting mice with stem cells in order to improve healing. The other would be via the administration of NAc, an antioxidant that combats oxidative stress.

What do you think?