ABSTRACT
Chronic alcohol intake affects a variety of immune functions. The immune alterations caused by the direct effects of ethanol, its biochemical metabolites, or associated condiments may be an etiological factor in the increased incidence of diseases, including oral, esophageal, and hepatic cancers and immunodepressive diseases observed in alcohol abusers. Retroviral infection preferentially lowered the apparent percentage of total T cells while increasing in T-helper and T-suppressor cells, which yielded a greater combined percentage than total T cells. A strong indication that a high intake of alcohol in the absence of liver damage could cause a rapid change in the cellular immune function is suggested by the studies of Sorrel and Leevy. Human studies conducted in our laboratories on the effects of dietary ethanol have shown that the relative proportion of T-helper cells may be significantly increased in long-term alcohol consumption, particularly in the setting of liver damage.
