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written today at 12:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.
Article published in the newspaper nº 130
Fervent defender of the famous Dry January – or sober January – the researcher on alcohol addiction Mickael Naassila points out the role of lobbies in promoting its consumption. The latter is however associated with more than 200 pathologies and a real epidemic of liver diseases. The neurobiologist, through clarifications on the devastation that alcohol can cause, wants to provide the keys to taking stock of his own consumption or that of those around him…
How did you become interested in the topic of alcohol?
During my first internship, a bachelor's degree at the Rouen medical school, I found myself in a laboratory dedicated to how alcohol modified the release of neurotransmitters. My work as an intern consisted of preparing neuronal membranes and exposing them to different pharmacological molecules, including alcohol. So I observed the way in which alcohol modulates the release of neurotransmitters and acts on the brain. After that, I continued in the same lab and studied how alcohol can disrupt the blood-brain barrier in the brain.
Then, during my thesis, I tried to understand, on the one hand, how one of the five drugs to treat alcohol addiction works in the brain and, on the other hand, the involvement of a new protein in alcohol addiction. This is a protein in the brain that produces a gas called nitric oxide. It was the heyday, at the end of the 1990s, when the role of nitric oxide as a neurotransmitter was demonstrated. And I, in this context, wanted to block this protein to learn more about how it modifies addictive behavior in animals.
Before getting to the heart of the matter, can you clarify who your book is aimed at?1 ?
It is aimed at everyone, whether you suffer from alcohol problems or not. I wrote it thinking about those around the alcoholic. Very often, we understand that we have a problem because our treating doctor will raise the word about problematic consumption or an addiction. Those around you will also alert. Today, in the event of difficulties linked to alcohol, it is possible to contact an addiction care, support and prevention center (CSAPA) and ask for help and advice. . Not only when it concerns yourself but also when it concerns someone close to you.
What do you think is the most telling figure about the harm caused by alcohol?
I think it's important to emphasize that alcohol is not just an addiction problem. There are more than 200 diseases associated with alcohol consumption. This very telling figure explains why we see that alcohol is one of the very leading causes of hospitalization. The first diseases to mention are cardiovascular pathologies, cancers and liver diseases due to alcohol. In cases of liver death in France – now that we know how to treat the hepatitis C virus – more than half of the cases are linked to alcohol. I would add another key figure: around 5 million French people have problematic alcohol consumption. Among these 5 million, only 10% are taken care ofalthough there are treatments.
What do you mean by problematic consumption?
I'm not saying that these 5 million…
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Bibliographic references
2. Named after a 1981 study whose conclusion was that moderate consumption of red wine in a Gascon (or Mediterranean by extension) type diet would be beneficial for cardiovascular diseases.
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