Presentation Type
Poster
Adult females showed increased alcohol metabolism when compared to adolescent females and adult males
Abstract
Adolescence is the time period in which most alcohol experimentation and addiction takes place. In the present study, the long-term impact of ethanol (EtOH) exposure during adolescence and adulthood on later EtOH pharmacokinetics in male and female rats were examined to determine whether EtOH’s intoxicating and permissive effects are dependent on the dose, sex and age of initial exposure. Animals were pretreated with EtOH during adolescence or adulthood, and changes in blood EtOH concentrations (BECs) over the course of an hour were assessed. Results indicate sex and age differences. Adult females showed a faster metabolism of the ethanol relative to adult males and adolescent females under the same conditions, a trend observed regardless of dose. Adolescent males were shown to have a faster alcohol metabolism when compared to adolescent females during the 60 minute time point. Taken together, these findings indicate adult females experience higher blood EtOH concentrations at the initial time point, suggestive of a greater immediate impact of EtOH, which may alter subsequent metabolic functioning of EtOH clearance. These data also provide evidence for both sex and age differences in EtOH consumption in adulthood.
Categories
Biomedical Sciences
Research Type
Research Assistant
Mentor Information
Dr. Cheryl L. Kirstein
Adult females showed increased alcohol metabolism when compared to adolescent females and adult males
Adolescence is the time period in which most alcohol experimentation and addiction takes place. In the present study, the long-term impact of ethanol (EtOH) exposure during adolescence and adulthood on later EtOH pharmacokinetics in male and female rats were examined to determine whether EtOH’s intoxicating and permissive effects are dependent on the dose, sex and age of initial exposure. Animals were pretreated with EtOH during adolescence or adulthood, and changes in blood EtOH concentrations (BECs) over the course of an hour were assessed. Results indicate sex and age differences. Adult females showed a faster metabolism of the ethanol relative to adult males and adolescent females under the same conditions, a trend observed regardless of dose. Adolescent males were shown to have a faster alcohol metabolism when compared to adolescent females during the 60 minute time point. Taken together, these findings indicate adult females experience higher blood EtOH concentrations at the initial time point, suggestive of a greater immediate impact of EtOH, which may alter subsequent metabolic functioning of EtOH clearance. These data also provide evidence for both sex and age differences in EtOH consumption in adulthood.
