Drinking Alcohol Slows Healing Process of Fractures: Study

Broke your bones? Please stay away from alcohol.

A latest research says that drinking alcohol while suffering from fractures can slow down the healing process.

The researchers at Loyola University Medical Center conducted a study on mice. They divided them into two groups. While, one group was given alcohol comparable to just about three times the legal limit for driving, the other was given the same amount of salt water.

Study results showed three different ways that could hamper bone curing.

In mice that were exposed to alcohol, the callus, a hard bony tissue that forms around the ends of fractured bones, lacked strength and stiffness and was less mineralised.

Also, these mice had oxidative stress, a condition that damages normal cell functioning.

"Many bone fractures are alcohol-related, due to car accidents, falls and shooting incidents," said Dr Roman Natoli, of the Loyola University Medical Center in the US. "In addition to contributing to bone fractures, alcohol also impairs the healing process. So add that to the list of reasons why you should not abuse alcohol" she explained in a press release.

The study further found that the levels of a protein called OPN was significantly less among the mice that were given alcohol.

"During the healing process, the body sends immature stem cells to a fracture site. After arriving at the site, the stem cells mature into bone cells. Two proteins, known as SDF-1 and OPN, are involved in recruiting stem cells to the injury site. In the alcohol-exposed group, OPN levels were significantly lower," the researchers wrote in the study.

Dr Natoli is further planning an animal-model study on two potential treatments to overcome the negative effects of alcohol on bone healing.