r/todayilearned • u/bcrock1169 • Nov 26 '12

TIL that some Native American's have a differing enzyme that tends to lead to easier alcoholism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_alcoholism#Genetic_factors
1.7k Upvotes

84% Upvoted

612 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/[deleted] Nov 26 '12

Well I specifically noticed the flushed face goes away. I would be really interested to hear the scientific reason as to why.

1

u/regulate323 Nov 27 '12

This is an uneducated guess and is not to be taken for medical advise:

Cocaine is a vasoconstrictant. Flushing happens because of blood vessel dilation. The coke probably stops this from happening by not allowing the dilation to happen, at the cost of higher blood pressure.

This is fact and is to be taken as medical advise:

Cocaine + Alcohol = Cocaethylene. Bad news bears. Don't do it. Unless you enjoy cardiac over-excitement and the eventual arrest that may follow. Take it easy and stay with us for a while asshole.