Alcohol and vascular endothelial function; Biphasic effect highlights the importance of dose.

EtOH has biphasic effects on several endothelial functions such that moderate level alcohol maintains the endothelium in a non-activated state, whereas high level alcohol causes endothelial dysfunction, as does acetaldehyde. These data stress the importance of dose when considering alcohol's effects in arterial endothelium, and may explain, in part, the J-shaped relationship between alcohol concentration and atherosclerosis reported in epidemiologic studies.