J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc.  2002 Nov;41(6):991-997.

The Changes of Cytokine Production during the Hangover State Induced by Experimental Alcohol Consumption

• Kim W
• Kim DJ
• Yoon SJ
• Choi BM
• Kim JS
• Lim HK
• Go HJ

Abstract

OBJECT: A hangover is characterized by the constellation of unpleasant physical and mental symptoms that occur 8-16hr after alcohol drinking. We evaluated the effects of experimentally induced alcohol hangover on immune functions by the measurement of cytokine production.
METHODS
A total of 13 normal adults males participated in this study. They did not have any previous histories of psychiatric or medical disorder. We defined the experimentally induced hangover condition by 13 hours after drinking high doses of alcohol(1.5g/kg of body weight). Venous blood was taken before the alcohol drinking & during the experimental hangover conditions. Monocyte was separated and stimulated with phytohemagglutinin. Cytokine production was measured by ELISA for IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, INF-gamma, TNF-alpha.
RESULTS
The production of cytokines IL-10, IL-12 and INF-gamma were increased during hangover conditions.
CONCLUSIONS
There is an changes in the production of cytokines IL-10, IL-12 and INF-gamma during hangover conditions. Thus, our results supported the hypothesis that acute alcohol treatment might affect Th1/Th2 immune balance by altering monocyte production of IL-12 and IL-10. These results suggested that elevated monocyte-derived IL-10 can contribute to the cellular immune abnormalities during hangover conditions.

Keyword

Alcohol; Hangover; Cytokines

MeSH Terms

Adult
Alcohol Drinking*
Cytokines
Drinking
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Humans
Interleukin-10
Interleukin-12
Interleukin-2
Interleukin-4
Interleukin-6
Male
Monocytes
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Cytokines
Interleukin-10
Interleukin-12
Interleukin-2
Interleukin-4
Interleukin-6
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha