Effects of Alcohol and Sex Hormones on Host Immune Response in Males and Females

The intemperate use of alcohol leads to major distortions in normal homeostasis, and results in a variety of diseases and disorders. Paramount among the effects elicited by excessive alcohol usage are abnormalities of immune system function. These are most frequently expressed as a significant depression in immune response. However, because the immune sys-tem itself is also regulated by the endocrine system, it follows that the immune dysfunctions resulting from alcohol use may also be modified by alcohol/endocrine system involvement.