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If you give a mouse a cookie, legend has it that a cascade of desires from the mouse will follow. But if you give the mouse a shot of a hormone, new research suggests it will fare better than its peers after a long night of binge drinking.
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center recently reported this finding in a new paper published in Cell Metabolism on March 7, which shows their new hormone injection strategy could eventually help counteract two unpleasant (and dangerous) symptoms of alcohol poisoning: loss of consciousness and impaired mobility.
“We’ve discovered that the liver is not only involved in metabolizing alcohol but that it also sends a hormonal signal to the brain to protect against the harmful effects of intoxication, including both loss of consciousness and coordination,” Steven Kliewer, a molecular biologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center who led the research, said in a press release.