Alcohol blunted the protection of monocytes.

Too much alcohol deadens more than your mind. It also weakens the

and can make you more vulnerable to viruses, including HIV. To see how alcohol affects the resistance to infection

University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester and his colleagues exposed monocytes - white blood cells involved in front line of defense against infection - for chemicals that mimic viruses and of bacteria. Half of the cells was also drunk at the level of alcohol a person can have in the blood after quaffing four or five alcoholic drinks a day for a week. Alcohol blunted the protection of monocytes. When more border cells subjected to simulate the impact of the virus, they produce only a quarter as much to combat viruses signaling molecule called type 1 interferon, a teetotaler monocytes did. "Interferon is critical, the first response to any viral infection," says Szabo. "There is no elimination of the virus without it."

Monocytes exposed to bacterial chemical suffered a double blow to the influence of alcohol. Not only do they do in half a second type of interferon equivalents as moderate, but overproduction of inflammatory chemical called tumor necrosis factor-alpha. While it is important for early inflammatory response of bacteria continued to manufacture the chemical can cause tissue damage. Sabo said that the results coincide with data from medical records that chronic drinkers with HIV die before teetotaler. They are also consistent with earlier research has shown that the immune system may be drinking heavily. Szabo says drinkers should beware of damaging the immune system. Next, she hopes that if alcohol does a flu shot less effective. University of Adelaide in South Australia say that the results coincide with the posthumous data suggest that chronic drinkers less immune chemicals in the blood than usual. In another study published this week, Hutchinson and his colleagues showed that in mice the same monocytes, when located in the brain may play a role in drinking flaws. "We are dealing with immune cells of the brain that appear in response to alcohol differently from the blood immune cells," says Hutchinson. His team found that blocking receptors for bacterial monocytes in the brain of mice stopped to be so awkward under the influence of alcohol. "This is just an elaborate story we just slid over the surface," says Hutchinson. Journal reference: the immune system: in press, clumsiness:

If you want to reuse content from New Scientist, or in print or online, please

department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights buy lasix generic online to photos, but there

available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright. .