title: In vivo quantification of ethanol kinetics in rat brain.
abstract: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used at 3T to measure the uptake and clearance of brain ethanol in rats after bolus intraperitoneal (i.p.) or intragastric (i.g.) alcohol injection, and to estimate the effects of acute alcohol on brain metabolites. The observation duration was 1-1.5 h with temporal resolution of alcohol sampling ranging from 4 s-4 min. The observed time course of alcohol brain concentration followed a consistent pattern characterized by a rapid absorption, an intermediate distribution, and a slower clearance that approached a linear decay. In a sample of eight healthy Wistar rats, the intercept of the linear clearance term, extrapolated back to the time of injection, correlated well with the administered dose per unit of lean body mass. Alcohol concentration estimation based on spectroscopically measured clearance was compared with blood alcohol levels from blood samples at the end of observation, and were in good agreement with the administered dose. Serial proton spectroscopy measurements provide a valid in vivo method for quantifying brain alcohol uptake and elimination kinetics in real time.
authors.affiliation: Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Elfar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Adalsteinsson
authors.forename: Edith V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: Adolf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pfefferbaum
mesh_terms: D020268:Alcohol-Induced Disorders, Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008657:Metabolic Clearance Rate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol