Acute effects of alcohol administration on regional cerebral blood flow: the role of acetate.
The effect of alcohol intoxication on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) is unclear. The few published studies provide a mixed picture of alcohol effects, suggesting that blood flow increases at low doses and decreases at higher doses of alcohol. Using the cerebral blood flow agent 99mtechnetium hexamethyl-propylene-amine-oxime (HMPAO) and image reconstruction with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), we evaluated the effect of an oral dose of ethanol (0.6 g/kg) on rCBF in two age-stratified groups of healthy, nonalcoholic men (12 age 22-37 and 12 age 63-77). Intoxication was associated with a significant 4% increase in global cortical CBF (t = 2.54, p = 0.02). Changes in HMPAO uptake were negatively correlated to ethanol levels in the entire group (r = -0.47, p = 0.04). This relationship was seen in the older subgroup (r = -0.70, p = 0.05), but not in the younger group (r = -0.34, p = 0.26). In contrast, the younger group showed a significant positive correlation between rCBF and increases in acetate levels (r = 0.71, p < 0.01), which was not seen in the older group (r = -0.02, p = 0.96). These findings suggest that both acetate and alcohol contribute to the changes in CBF seen in the intoxication syndrome and that their relative influence is age-dependent.
Schwartz
J A
JA
Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor.
Speed
N M
NM
Gross
M D
MD
Lucey
M R
MR
Bazakis
A M
AM
Hariharan
M
M
Beresford
T P
TP
D000085:Acetates / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008657:Metabolic Clearance Rate / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D010091:Oximes; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D000085:Acetates; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D010091:Oximes; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime; D000431:Ethanol