(HealthDay News) -- Binge drinking can weaken the body's ability to fight infections for at least 24 hours, say U.S. researchers.
Binge drinking is defined as consuming large amounts of alcohol over a short period of time to deliberately get drunk.
In experiments with mice, the researchers found that binge drinking affects toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), a protein that plays an important role in immune system activation. Specifically, heavy drinking suppresses TLR4's ability to send signals that activate production of inflammatory cytokines -- signaling molecules that begin the inflammatory response to infection.
The researchers also determined that binge drinking inhibits NF-B, a protein complex that controls DNA transcription and expression of some of the cytokines inhibited by alcohol. Read more...
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