Repeated Cycles of Binge-Like Ethanol Intake in Adolescent Female Rats Induce Motor Function Impairment and Oxidative Damage in Motor Cortex and Liver, but Not in Blood

Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2018 Sep 19:2018:3467531. doi: 10.1155/2018/3467531. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Moderate ethanol consumption (MEC) is increasing among women. Alcohol exposure usually starts in adolescence and tends to continue until adulthood. We aimed to investigate MEC impacts during adolescence until young adulthood of female rats. Adolescent female Wistar rats received distilled water or ethanol (3 g/kg/day), in a 3 days on-4 days off paradigm (binge drinking) for 1 and 4 consecutive weeks. We evaluate liver and brain oxidative damage, peripheral oxidative parameters by SOD, catalase, thiol contents, and MDA, and behavioral motor function by open-field, pole, beam-walking, and rotarod tests. Our results revealed that repeated episodes of binge drinking during adolescence displayed lipid peroxidation in the liver and brain. Surprisingly, such oxidative damage was not detectable on blood. Besides, harmful histological effects were observed in the liver, associated to steatosis and loss of parenchymal architecture. In addition, ethanol intake elicited motor incoordination, bradykinesia, and reduced spontaneous exploratory behavior in female rats.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Binge Drinking / blood
  • Binge Drinking / pathology*
  • Female
  • Lipid Peroxidation / drug effects
  • Liver / drug effects*
  • Liver / pathology
  • Motor Cortex / drug effects
  • Motor Cortex / pathology
  • Oxidative Stress / drug effects
  • Psychomotor Performance / drug effects*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar