Ethylene glycol is a colourless and odourless type of alcohol found in many household products. People sometimes drink ethylene glycol mistakenly (or on purpose as a substitute for ethanol), however drinking it can cause profound shock, organ failure, and even death.
Ethylene glycol itself is not toxic, rather the products it gets broken down into. The same enzyme in the body that normally breaks down ethanol into harmless products is also responsible for the hydrolysis of ethylene glycol. This is due to ethylene glycol having a similar structure to ethanol. Accordingly, the treatment for someone who has ingested ethylene glycol is a large dose of ethanol.
Which statement explains why this unusual treatment works?
Ethanol binds near the active site on the enzyme and alters its shape
Ethanol denatures the enzyme
Ethanol is more likely to bind to the active site of the enzyme
Ethanol acts as a pain killer