Brad and Rocky drink equivalent amounts of alcohol (and have the same body mass)

Question

Brad and Rocky drink equivalent amounts of alcohol (and have the same body mass) would you predict that Brad's levels of acetaldehyde are higher or lower when compared to Rocky? Explain your answer. Brad: Fast ADH; Slow ALDH Rocky: Fast ADH; Fast ALDH High levels of acetaldehyde make drinking unpleasant, resulting in facial flushing, nausea, and a rapid heartbeat. With all other environmental and genetic factors being equal, Rocky is at higher risk for alcoholism than Brad. Explain this statement.

Explanation / Answer

Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) are enzymes involved in the metabolism of alcohol. ADH catalyses the conversion of ethanol to acetaldehyde. ALDH converts acetaldehyde to acetate.

Brad has Fast ADH, so he would have rapid production of acetaledehyde from the consumed ethanol. Because he also has slow ALDH, the produced acetaldehyde would not be properly converted into acetate. This could lead to accumulation of acetaldehyde. As levels of acetaldehyde increases, there are various unpleasant consequences, and this should discourage Brad from drinking further.

Rocky, on the other hand, has fast ADH and fast ALDH. In his body, ethanol is metabolized more quickly. As acetaldehyde is produced by ADH, it is rapidly converted into acetate by fast ALDH. Since there is no accumulation of acetaldehyde, we can expect Rocky to drink more. Therefore, Rocky is at higher risk for alcoholism than Brad.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse B
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.