From the glass to the brain in 6 minutes

What substances cause a "hangover"?

In other studies, the researchers examined what a "hangover" does to the brain – magnetic resonance spectroscopy can possibly enable us to find out what substances in alcoholic beverages bring on the familiar "hangover".

Caption: Tipsy in the "tube" – to test the effect of alcohol on brain tissue, subjects at the university hospital drank an unpleasant tasting alcoholic liquid from a 90 cm long straw.
Photo: Heidelberg University Hospital.

Reference: Armin Biller, Andreas Bartsch, György Homola, Laszlo Solymosi, Martin Bendszus. The Effect of Ethanol on Human Brain Metabolites Longitudinally Characterized by Proton MR-Spectroscopy, Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism 2009, in press.

Contact person:
Dr. Armin Biller
Department of Neuroradiology
University of Heidelberg
Im Neuenheimer Feld 400
69120 Heidelberg
Tel.: 06221/56-38383
Email:

Information on the Internet: www.klinikum.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php?id=853&L=de

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Heidelberg University Hospital is one of the largest and most prestigious medical centers in Germany. The Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University belongs to the internationally most renowned biomedical research institutions in Europe. Both institutions have the common goal of developing new therapies and implementing them rapidly for patients. With about 7,000 employees, training and qualification is an important issue. Every year, around 500,000 patients are treated on an inpatient or outpatient basis in more than 40 clinics and departments with 1,600 beds. Currently, about 3,100 future physicians are studying in Heidelberg; the reform Heidelberg Curriculum Medicinale (HeiCuMed) is one of the top medical training programs in Germany.

Requests by journalists:
Dr. Annette Tuffs
Head of Public Relations and Press Department
University Hospital of Heidelberg and
Medical Faculty of Heidelberg
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D-69120 Heidelberg
Germany
phone: +49 6221 / 56 45 36
fax: +49 6221 / 56 45 44
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