The hormone FGF21, which is produced naturally in the liver, reverses the effects of alcohol on the brain, according to research from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (USA) presented today in the journal Cell Metabolism. The authors of the paper propose using FGF21 as a treatment against alcohol poisoning after having verified its efficacy in mice.
“Our studies suggest that FGF21 could be useful for patients who come to the emergency department with acute alcohol intoxication,” Steven Kliewer, co-director of the research, said by email. “Raising their alertness would prevent them from choking on their own vomit and would expedite evaluation and treatment of other injuries.”
The researchers maintain that FGF21 is a defense mechanism available to humans and other animals that eat fruit to avoid becoming intoxicated with the alcohol produced by the fermentation of sugars.
This action is a side benefit of FGF21, whose main function is adaptation to situations of metabolic stress such as hunger and cold. Because of its ability to regulate blood glucose and fat cell function, some pharmaceutical companies have developed compounds that activate FGF21 as a possible treatment for diabetes and other diseases. Although for now they are not approved as drugs, “they have been tested in clinical trials that suggest that their use as medicine will be safe,” says Kliewer.
Researchers have shown in experiments with mice that animals that do not produce FGF21 are more vulnerable to alcohol intoxication. But the injection of a dose of the hormone allows them to recover twice as fast, both in terms of coordination of movements and to regain consciousness if they have lost it.
The action of FGF21 does not affect the amount of alcohol circulating in the blood, but only its action on the nervous system, which indicates that the hormone will not be useful to reduce the blood alcohol level if you want to drive after having drunk.
Researchers have located the specific region of the brain in which FGF21 acts to attenuate the effects of alcohol. It is the locus ceruleus, a small nucleus of neurons that regulate alertness, the transition from sleep to wakefulness and body balance, as well as attention, memory and motivation, among other functions.
Contrary to expectations, FGF21 does not interfere with the sedative effects of ketamine, diazepam, or pentobarbital, so their effects appear to be alcohol-specific.
“We have discovered that the liver not only metabolizes alcohol; In addition, it sends a hormonal signal to the brain to protect it from the damaging effects of poisoning”, declares Kliewer. When the neurons of the locus ceruleus receive the signal of the FGF21 hormone from the liver, they secrete norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter that increases alertness and improves coordination of movements.
The researchers propose that the action of FGF21 has evolved to favor activity, motivation and the ability to survive in adverse situations, for example due to lack of food. These properties of FGF21 “could be useful to treat both loss of consciousness and motor disorders that occur during acute alcohol intoxication,” they conclude in Cell Metabolism.
