ETHANOL, IMMUNE-RESPONSES, AND MURINE AIDS - THE ROLE OF VITAMIN-E ASAN IMMUNOSTIMULANT AND ANTIOXIDANT

Excessive alcohol consumption is a major health problem in the United States. Prolonged consumption of alcohol results in alterations of imm une responses, ultimately manifested by increasing susceptibility to i nfectious agents. Such changes can be due to the direct effects of alc ohol or its metabolites on immune cells, as well as to nutritional def iciency, oxidative stress, and neutrophil dysfunctions. This ETOH-indu ced immunosuppression could be a potential cofactor in the progression to AIDS. As vitamin E supplementation has been associated with enhanc ement of immune response and improvement of host defense, it may provi de a useful therapeutic approach for treatment of alcoholics to improv e host defense. This article is a review of alcohol-related immunosupp ression as a possible cofactor in the development of AIDS, and vitamin E-related immunoenhancing roles in animals and humans, showing why vi tamin E supplementation could be used as a useful adjunct agent in alc oholics' treatment. Since there is little information available regard ing nutritional therapy with alcohol users, our purpose is to provide evidence from animal models of the potential therapeutic role of vitam in E supplementation in the treatment of alcoholics.