Chronic alcohol consumption induces lipofuscin deposition in the rat hippocampus.
Previous investigations have suggested that chronic alcohol consumption accelerates a number of age-related changes in the cerebellar cortex and hippocampal formation. In the cerebellum, alcohol-feeding has been shown to accelerate the intracellular deposition of lipofuscin. In order to determine whether alcohol administration has a similar effect on hippocampal lipofuscin deposition, we studied the pattern of lipofuscin deposition in alcohol-fed rats for periods of 1, 3, 6, 12 and 18 months and compared the results with those obtained in the respective pair-fed controls. A precocious and progressive deposition of lipofuscin pigment was found in both CA1 and CA3 neurons in Ammon's horn hippocampal fields after 3 and 6 months of alcohol feeding, respectively. These results parallel those observed during normal aging and reinforce the hypothesis of a close link between chronic alcohol consumption and a premature nerve cell aging.
D000135:Acid Phosphatase / Q000378:metabolism; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008062:Lipofuscin / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D008062:Lipofuscin; D010860:Pigments, Biological; D000135:Acid Phosphatase