Ethylene glycol is a component of car antifreezes. By itself it is a harmless substance but it is broken down in the body into oxalic acid (a deadly poison) by the enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase. Alcohol (ethanol) acts as a competitive inhibitor for alcohol dehydrogenase. Giving the patient large amounts of alcohol will cause the ethanol to compete with ethylene glycol for the active site of alcohol dehydrogenase. Alcohol is the preferred substrate for alcohol dehydrogenase so when it is present, it binds with the enzyme. After a while, the ethylene glycol is harmlessly excreted.
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