An elderly American woman has been synthesizing alcohol in her bladder for many years. She did not feel drunk, but it all ended with cirrhosis of the liver, and an organ transplant was needed. Previously, cases of the formation of alcohol in the stomachs of patients who did not sober for several years were recorded. We are investigating why the human body produces ethanol and whether it is possible to get rid of such an internal brewery.
Brewery in urinary
In 2019, a 61-year-old woman with diabetes and cirrhosis was expecting a new organ transplant. But during an examination at the Presbyterian Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (USA), traces of ethanol were found in her urine samples. Doctors suspected the patient of alcohol dependence and decided to refuse her transplant.
However, additional analyzes revealed a strange discrepancy: ethanol was present in the urine, but its metabolites - ethyl glucuronide and ethyl sulfate - were not in the blood. This confirmed the assurances of the pensioner that she had not touched alcohol for many years. In addition, experts found a large amount of glucose and Candida glabrata yeast in her urine.
The latter are considered a natural analogue of brewer's yeast. So, they could well convert the sugar available in the body into alcohol, the doctors suggested. Moreover, a similar case has already been described earlier, but then an increased content of ethanol in the urine was found in an already deceased patient. She also suffered from diabetes.
Experts concluded that Candida glabrata settled in the bladder of an elderly American woman, which led to the development of alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. However, treatment with antifungal drugs did not bring much benefit. Nevertheless, the patient can now count on a new liver transplant.
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Drunk without wine
Not only Candida glabrata is capable of synthesizing ethyl alcohol in the human body. Scientists isolate about a dozen microorganisms that, under certain conditions, begin to stimulate the production of alcohol directly in the internal organs. Most often it occurs in the intestines, and the main culprits are the fungi Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the bacteria Lactobacillus fermentum and Weissella confusa.
When they form too much ethanol, a person develops what is known as auto fermentation syndrome. It is accompanied by dizziness, nausea, dry mouth, and other signs of intoxication. In addition, these patients have ethyl alcohol in their blood. Therefore, for many years they are considered drunken alcoholics and do not try to treat correctly.
The bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae, Weissella confusa and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are most often to blame for the development of * auto-fermentation syndrome *, experts say.
Not only mushrooms
Similar symptoms and increased yeast levels were reported in two more Americans. The first is an elderly man who for almost ten years suffered from incomprehensible bouts of alcoholic intoxication. The doctors agreed to examine him only after 24 hours of observation, during which they made sure that he really did not drink anything intoxicating. Correctly selected antifungal therapy helped him return to normal life.
The second case is a 25-year-old patient with the same long-term problems. His wife sent him to the doctors, only after making sure that her husband did not secretly consume alcohol. The poor man was also helped by antifungal drugs. But in order to avoid relapses, he must now adhere to a special low-carb diet for his entire life.
But the 27-year-old Chinese, also suffering from auto-fermentation syndrome, was not helped by antifungal therapy. As the researchers found, in his body, the intestinal bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae was most likely responsible for the synthesis of alcohol. The concentration of these microorganisms in his stomach was almost nine hundred times higher than normal.
As a result, a high level of ethanol was recorded in his blood after sugary soft drinks, which is typical for people in a state of intoxication. In addition, the man's liver was fat and inflamed, like a chronic alcoholic. To end the constant intoxication, the patient had to drink prescribed antibiotics and give up the sweet soda, which he loved so much.
Alfiya Enikeeva