Beta-catenin levels higher in alcoholics' brains, but does this make the protein a prevention or treatment target? [Dr. Joan Bushwell's Chimpanzee Refuge]

Published: May 4, 2008, 4:33 pm

Longest post title ever! Researchers at Wake Forest have determined that the levels of a protein called beta-catenin are higher in the brains of longtime heavy drinkers than in age-matched controls free of alcoholism. Beta-catenin, like hundreds of other polypeptides, contributes to intracellular signaling and cell development. Of note is its apparent role in liver regeneration following partial hepatectomy or other insult. Because ethanol is a poison that does not merely affect behavior and physiological processes but the structure of the body itself (cirrhosis, anyone?), I was already thinking along the lines of this observation from Qiang Gu, the study's senior author, before I got to it. Read the rest of this post... Read the comments on this post...

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