title: Rapid tolerance as an index of chronic tolerance.
abstract: Hypothermia and motor impairment (tilt-plane test) were used to assess the phenomenon of rapid cross-tolerance between ethanol and pentobarbital in rats. The hypothermic and motor-impairment responses were significantly reduced on day 2 in animals receiving ethanol on day 1, compared to the control group pretreated with saline. Ethanol pretreatment, however, did not result in rapid cross-tolerance to pentobarbital on either test. Pentobarbital pretreatment on day 1 resulted in rapid tolerance to pentobarbital on day 2. However, in contrast to the lack of rapid cross-tolerance to pentobarbital after pretreatment with ethanol, pentobarbital pretreatment clearly conferred rapid cross-tolerance to ethanol. Determination of ethanol and pentobarbital blood levels suggested that pharmacokinetic alterations did not contribute significantly to the observed rapid tolerance and cross-tolerance. The asymmetry of rapid cross-tolerance seen in these studies mimics the results obtained by us in chronic tolerance and cross-tolerance studies reported recently. These results suggest that rapid tolerance and cross-tolerance can be used as predictors of chronic tolerance and cross-tolerance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Khanna
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kalant
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weiner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D010424:Pentobarbital / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000187:drug effects; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D010424:Pentobarbital