Alcoholmd Glossary Page - L

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L Definition
Latino

A person who lives in the US and who comes from or whose family comes from Latin America.

Light drinking

Taking small amounts of alcohol (1-2 drinks), infrequently (once a week or less). Light, moderate, social, socially acceptable refer to alcohol drinking, which is not perceived to be harmful. Social drinking and harmful drinking often overlap.

LAAM

Levo-alpha-acetylmethadol, a derivative of methadone; very long-acting opioid, approved for use in the US for the maintenance treatment of opioid dependence

Laboratory test

Some biological or laboratory tests may indicate a drinking problem such as increased blood levels of the gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP). This enzyme is a hepatic-specific component. When a cell is destroyed, its components are found in the blood. An increased GGTP in non-alcoholic blood is rare; in heavy drinkers, the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) may increase. This is most notable with a blunted vitamin B12 absorption and occurs more often in women than men. In alcohol abuse, uric acid, glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT, also called aspartate aminotransferase or AST) and serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGPT, also called alanine aminotransferase or ALT) can increase as a direct effect of a high metabolism of alcohol to uric acid or as another effect of a liver disease with an increase of the circulating hepatic cell enzymes.

Legal age

Age required by the law to ingest or obtain alcoholic beverages, as well as enter an alcohol dispensing establishment. Most states require 21 years of age.

Legalization

Removal of legal restrictions on the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, possession and/or use of psychoactive substance

Librium

A benzodiazepine similar to valium, widely used as the primary drug to treat alcohol withdrawal.

Lipha

A division of Merck KGaA (http://www.merck.de/) and manufacturers of Campral (acamprosate) for the treatment of alcohol dependence.

Liquor

Liquor or hard liquor distilled alcoholic beverages; spirits.

Liver

The liver is the principle site of drug metabolism, or chemical alteration, in the body. The liver can be diseased or damaged by intoxication or infectious disease, causing it to malfunction. Alcohol causes an array of liver problems, such as hepatitis and cirrhosis, which in turn have a number of complications.

Liver disease

malfunction of the liver caused by intoxication or infectious disease. Alcohol causes an array of liver problems linked to liver damage, such as hepatitis and cirrhosis, which in turn have a number of complications. Cirrhosis may result from alcohol use but can also be associated with diet too high in fat; the evolution between a fatty liver to cirrhosis remains unclear and most heavy drinker do not necessary suffer a cirrhosis development.

Liver enzymes

Enzymes produces by the liver during necrosis. See also: (Transaminase, GGT).

Liver Function Tests

LFTs biochemical tests to determine the condition of the liver often disturbed by excessive alcohol consumption

Liver transplant

Surgical procedure by which the damaged liver is replaced by a healthy liver coming from an organ donor

Loss of Control

The inability to consistently limit the self-administration of psychoactive substances.

Low risk drinking

Drinking that is unlikely to lead to alcohol problems. Drinking within moderate drinking guidelines or safe guidelines for the particular individual, and avoiding drinking in situations where it might cause harm: use of alcohol in a manner that is unlikely to lead to problems. "Safe" and "normal" are sometimes used as synonyms for low risk drinking (see low risk) steady drinking refers to frequency of drinking, usually daily or most days of the week, over a period of time

LSD

Lysergic acid diethylamide, substance inducing perceptual distortions with depersonalization and derealisation, hallucinations, hightening of consciousness; the natural substance commonly abused are the mescaline or the psilocybin.

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