101674: Alcoholic Lung Disease

About the Course:

In addition to its well-known association with lung infection, alcohol abuse now is recognized as an independent factor that increases by three- to four-fold the incidence of the acute respiratory distress syndrome, a severe form of acute lung injury with a mortality rate of 40 to 50 percent. This translates to tens of thousands of excess deaths in the United States each year from alcohol-mediated lung injury, which is comparable to scarring of the liver (i.e., cirrhosis) in terms of alcohol-related mortality. Experimental and clinical studies are shedding light on the basic mechanisms by which alcohol abuse predisposes some people to both acute lung injury and pneumonia. At the same time, novel therapeutic targets could be utilized in treating these uniquely vulnerable people.

Journal/Publisher:

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Publication Date:

Volume 31, Number 1, 2008

Author

Corey D. Kershaw, M.D., and David M. Guidot, M.D.

About the Author:

Corey D. Kershaw, M.D., is an assistant professor of Medicine and David M. Guidot, M.D., is a professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia; both authors also are on the medical staff of the Atlanta VA Medical Center, where Dr. Guidot directs the Emory Alcohol and Lung Biology Center.

Recommended For:

This course is recommended for health care professionals, especially addiction counselors, psychologists, mental health counselors, social workers, and nurses who seek knowledge about alcoholic lung disease. It is appropriate for intermediate to advanced levels of participants’ knowledge.

Course Objectives:

1. Discuss the relationship between alcohol abuse, pneumonia, and acute lung injury.

2. Explain potential treatment strategies for lung disorders related to alcohol abuse.

3. Describe how systems biology relates to the study of alcoholic lung disease.