Heavy-drinking smokers have a new reason to kick both habits: A study in rats finds that exposure to cigarette smoke exacerbates alcohol's effect in speeding the dangerous bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae toward the lungs.

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S. pneumoniae can cause pneumonia
S. pneumoniae can cause pneumonia as well as other kinds of infections, and alcoholics and cigarette smokers appear to be particularly susceptible to pulmonary infections caused by this form of bacteria.

The 12-week study, conducted in 64 rats, found that alcohol consumption helped S. pneumoniae travel toward the rodents' lungs and that exposure to cigarette smoke exacerbated this effect.

"This study points to the importance of understanding the potential combined adverse effects of alcoholism and cigarette smoking on lung defences against pathogen infection," Gregory J. Bagby, professor of physiology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Centre, New Orleans, said in a prepared statement.

His team published their findings in the May issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

"Future studies are needed to both describe the effects of alcohol and cigarette smoking on lung-host defence as well as the mechanisms involved," Bagby said. – (HealthDayNews)
 

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