A Dirty Tractor in Sin City

Every so often, people are put in situations where they are totally lost and out of place…

Dirty Tractor recently took a business trip to "sin city" itself; Las Vegas. We are a laid back group, enjoy the country and like to be outdoors as much as possible. On top of that, part of our mission is to make people aware of liver disease causes and effects. So, when in a city like this, the only phrase to describe what we felt was “culture shock.” The only other people that probably felt more out of place was a pair of Mennonites walking through the ‘Vegas airport.

However, one thing we don’t do is preach against people’s lifestyles. Even though we deal with late stage cirrhosis sufferers on a daily basis, we STILL don’t bash alcoholics, or anybody who drinks for that matter. Why? Well, we understand the reasoning behind why certain people drink more than others, the benefits of light drinking on occasion and even letting loose every once in a while. But in ‘Vegas, letting loose is a daily and nightly event – 24/7.

What saddened me the most on this recent trip was seeing men in wheelchairs and on oxygen playing the slots, 70 year old singles playing blackjack alone and young people passed out on the streets. I guess after dealing with end-of-life issues for a while in the “real world,” seeing people waste precious time in casinos and bars is hard for me to watch. Add in the constant noise and lights and it's almost unbearable after a while.

For those who follow Dirty Tractor on Twitter, you read how we spent the last night of our Las Vegas trip in a hotel room eating chicken noodle soup and looking forward to a flight home. Some may say we are boring and didn’t give the city a chance; we did – we walked the streets, toured the casinos, even sat at a couple bars – and realized after it all that making the most of life is feeling good about yourself and spending true quality time with your family.

I just don’t see that happening in Sin City. “Viva Las Vegas” for those who like it, we’ll be enjoying a cookout in the hills.

Alcohol and Brain Shrinkage

A new report in the news today talks about the discovery of smaller brain sizes in people who consume just moderate amounts of alcohol... and no, their brains were not small to begin with.

Apparently, research conducted by the neuroscience program at Wellesley College recognized the link between brain tissue shrinkage and alcohol when studying the phenomenon which occurs naturally as people age.

"Decline in brain volume -- estimated at 2 percent per decade -- is a natural part of aging," says Carol Ann Paul, who conducted the study originally at the Boston University School of Public Health. "However, we did not find the protective effect," says Paul, who is now at the neuroscience program at Wellesley College. "In fact, any level of alcohol consumption resulted in a decline in brain volume."

What causes the brain to physically shrink anyway?

Alcohol is "known to dehydrate tissues, and constant dehydration can have negative effects on any sensitive tissue," says Paul.

Before you get too upset about the results of this study, it is important to point out that there was no determination of decreased brain function because of less brain volume. It is an interesting study, nonetheless.

10 Main Causes of Liver Cirrhosis

Most people that have heard of liver cirrhosis will automatically attribute it to alcoholism. In fact, there are a number of causes for the disease; Here is a simple list of 10 of the more common ones:

1. Alcoholism
2. Chronic Viral Hepatitis
3. Chronic Bile Duct Blockage
4. Primary biliary cirrhosis
5. Primary sclerosing cholangitis.
6. Nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases
7. Abnormal Storage of Copper or Iron
8. Certain Drugs and Toxins
9. Autoimmune Hepatitis
10. Cystic Fibrosis and Alpha l-Antitrypsin Deficiency

Not surprisingly, Alcohol does happen to be the #1 cause of liver cirrhosis. Excess drinking can be attributed to 9 out of every 10 cases of cirrhosis in the U.S., and is also the third leading cause of death in people age 45-65 (after heart disease and cancer).

A distant second place to alcoholism is hepatitis Type B and Type C; both viruses.