hello all,
i just found this forum and its Abso-freak'in-lutly Fabulous!
it's nice to finally find out what's really going on(the allel info is really handy and hard to find). and it's nice to know that skipping the tipsy part and going straight to the "feeling sick as a dog" part is not just me.
i have a question though.
1.) ALDH2*2 differs from ALDH2*1 by one aminoacid(->so one nucletide is different due to pointmutation). and i presume that this effects the secundary and tertiary structure of the enzym(due to the primary structure change). is this structural change of the enzym the reason it doesnt work as effective? does the ALDH2 enzym variate in structure due to this mutation and are there simply 2 ALDH2 enzymes (apart from the cystolic and mitochondrial )? or is the interferrence between ALDH2*1 and ALDH2*2 the reason that the ALDH2 enzym works inproperly? and if this is the case what is the difference(looking strictly at the enzym itself) between the ineffective, less effective and effective ALDH2 enzym?
2.) if ALDH2*2 is indeed the dominant allel between the 2 than why is it that ALDH2*2/ALDH2*2 is more rare?? i have yet to encounter someone that have a severa a reaction to alcohol as i do, allthough i know many that suffer from"the blush" (admitted most asians i know are Halfs (half asian/half european) but even amongst my 100% friends none of them refrain from drinking due to any unwanted (read. ruining your night out) consequenses of drinking. ). even on the internet the symptomes i read about often include "blushing" and itching but only on rare accounts do i read about people that are so alcohol intolerant that they simply CAN'T drink because of nausea.
3.) i often read and know about people that "drink"there blush away. they get red all over after 2 beers but after the 4th the blush is gone and they can keep on drinking.
why is it that this is possible? even if they are hetrozygoot (ALDH2*2/ALDH2*1) they have a less effective ALDH2 enzym, shouldn't they still be suffering from the effect of having to much Acetaldehyde(ethanal)(the cause of nausea during a hangover) in the blood.?? how is it that these people can drink "like europeans" after conquering an initial blush? shouldnt they be getting sick anyway bacause their acetaldehyde dehyrogenase is too slow??
4.) why is it that some hetrozygoot (ALDH2*2/ALDH2*1) people have a stronger reaction to alcohol than other hetrozygoot (ALDH2*2/ALDH2*1) people??? what factors (besides sex, height, weight and general metabolism speedrate) are resposible for this difference?
i'm sorry that was more than one question and it's kinda specific.
it's just that i decided to write my high school research paper on the subject and being the internet idiot i am i find the information i find kind of lacking. i'm hoping someone here knows more about it and can answer my questions.
-X- Miesja
P.S> the Pepcide i'm reading about here, does it work on homozygoot ALDH2*2 people as wel? the experience from people here seem to be limited to people that only sufferd from "the blush" prior to taking pepcide.
is there anyone here who is homozygoot ALDH2*2 (meaning they get red for a second->get Sick->vomit->keep feeling sick) and has taken this pepcide? does it really work? because i would like to be able to drink,not in excess but a wine during dinner or a beer in a bar would be nice for a change.
Ad to tell the truth, i would like to know how it feels to just let go of my inhibitions.
P.P.S> sorry if things are formulated or spelled wrong, english is not my native language