Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

3 hours ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

4 hours ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

7 hours ago

Elon Musk Says Senate Bill Would Destroy Jobs and Harm US

8 hours ago

Israel Strikes Pound Gaza, Killing 60, Ahead of US Talks on Ceasefire

9 hours ago

Trump’s Administration Finds Harvard Violated Students’ Civil Rights, WSJ Reports

9 hours ago

How Did the Supreme Court Rule? Here’s a Look at the Big Cases

2 days ago
A Hangover Pill? Tests on Drunk Mice Show Promise
The-Conversation
By The Conversation
Published 7 years ago on
May 10, 2018

Share

“Civilization begins with distillation,” said William Faulkner, a writer and drinker. Although our thirst for alcohol dates back to the Stone Age, nobody has figured out a good way to deal with the ensuing hangover after getting drunk.
As a chemical engineering professor and wine enthusiast, I felt I needed to find a solution. As frivolous as this project may sound, it has serious implications. Between 8 and 10 percent of emergency room visits in America are due to acute alcohol poisoning. Alcohol is the leading risk factor for premature deaths and disability among people aged 15-49 and its abuse leads to serious health problems, including cardiovascular and liver cancer. Despite these sobering facts, current treatments for alcohol overdose largely rely on the body’s own enzymes to break down this drug.

Portrait of UCLA professor Yufeng Lu, who is researching a cure for hangovers.
Yunfeng Lu
I decided to design an antidote that could help people enjoy wine or cocktails or beer without a hangover, and at the same time create a lifesaving therapy to treat intoxication and overdose victims in the ER. I chose to create capsules filled with natural enzymes usually found in liver cells to help the body process the alcohol faster.
Together with professor Cheng Ji, an expert in liver diseases from Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, and my graduate student Duo Xu, we developed an antidote and tested it in mice.
We showed that in inebriated mice (which fall asleep much faster than drunk humans), the treatment decreased the blood alcohol level by 45 percent in just four hours compared to mice that didn’t receive any.
Inspired by the body’s approach for breaking down alcohol, we chose three natural enzymes that convert alcohol into harmless molecules that are then excreted. That might sound simple, because these enzymes were not new, but the tricky part was to figure out a safe, effective way to deliver them to the liver.
To protect the enzymes, we wrapped each of them in a shell, using a material the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had already approved for pills. We then injected these nanocapsules into the veins of drunk mice where they hurtled through the circulatory system, eventually arriving in the liver where they entered the cells and served as mini–reactors to digest alcohol.
We showed that in inebriated mice (which fall asleep much faster than drunk humans), the treatment decreased the blood alcohol level by 45 percent in just four hours compared to mice that didn’t receive any. Meanwhile, the blood concentration of acetaldehyde – a highly toxic compound that is carcinogenic, causes headaches and vomiting, makes people blush after drinking, and is produced during the normal alcohol metabolism – remained extremely low. The animals given the drug woke from their alcohol-induced slumber faster than their untreated counterparts – something all college students would appreciate.
This sort of antidote won’t stop people from going too far when consuming alcohol, but it could help them recover quicker. In the meantime, we plan on drinking responsibly and hope that you do too.
The ability to efficiently break down alcohol quickly should help patients wake up earlier and prevent alcohol poisoning. It should also protect their liver from alcohol–associated stress and damage.
We are currently completing tests to ensure that our nanocapsules are safe and don’t trigger unexpected or dangerous side effects. If our treatments prove effective in animals, we could begin human clinical trials in as early as one year.
The ConversationThis sort of antidote won’t stop people from going too far when consuming alcohol, but it could help them recover quicker. In the meantime, we plan on drinking responsibly and hope that you do too.
Yunfeng Lu, Professor Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, No Containment Yet

DON'T MISS

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

DON'T MISS

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

DON'T MISS

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

DON'T MISS

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

DON'T MISS

DOJ Announces Arrest, Indictments in North Korean IT Worker Scheme

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Arrested in Clovis for Sex-Related Crimes Against Minor

DON'T MISS

Dyer’s Lobbying Works. Fresno Gets $100M for Downtown From State

DON'T MISS

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

DON'T MISS

S&P 500, Nasdaq Close at Record Highs, Cap Best Quarter in Over a Year

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

UP NEXT

Buying a Home With Solar? Beware of CA Bill Written by Former Utility Co. Exec

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Sues Los Angeles Over Immigration Enforcement

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Immigration Raids Leave Crops Unharvested, California Farms at Risk

UP NEXT

CA’s Population Shrank in Trump’s First Immigration Crackdown. It Could Happen Again

UP NEXT

Controversial Climate Rule That Could Raise Gas Prices About to Take Effect

UP NEXT

US Supreme Court Preserves Key Element of Obamacare

UP NEXT

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

1 hour ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

2 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

2 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

2 hours ago

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

2 hours ago

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

2 hours ago

DOJ Announces Arrest, Indictments in North Korean IT Worker Scheme

2 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Clovis for Sex-Related Crimes Against Minor

2 hours ago

Dyer’s Lobbying Works. Fresno Gets $100M for Downtown From State

3 hours ago

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

3 hours ago

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

An 86-year-old Fresno woman was killed Monday in a head-on collision in southeast Fresno County, according to the California Highway Patrol....

18 minutes ago

fresno
18 minutes ago

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

1 hour ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

Bryan Koberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, listens during a hearing to overturn his grand jury indictment in Moscow, Idaho, U.S., October 26, 2023. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

The Blanca Fire, burning 12 acres northwest of Lake Madera Country Estates in Madera County, remains active with 0% containment and no reported injuries or structural damage as the cause is under investigation as of Monday, June 30, 2025. (CalFire)
2 hours ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

Fresno County CHP arrested two on Interstate 5 after finding about one kilogram of suspected cocaine, a loaded ghost gun, and counterfeit money during a vehicle search on Sunday, June 29, 2025. (CHP)
2 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

Gov. Newsom warns Californians to celebrate the Fourth of July safely, emphasizing zero tolerance for illegal fireworks which have surged to over 600,000 pounds seized this year. (Shutterstock)
2 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend