[Histology of the central nervous system in rats after intensive chronic ethanol intoxication]

The influence of intensive chronic intoxication with ethanol on adult Wistar rats was investigated. The animals received through a stomach pump 5 ml of 40% ethyl alcohol solution daily for three months. Structural lesions of the CNS observed in the light microscope consisted of acute and chronic edematous changes with infiltration of mononuclear cells and presence of lymphocytic-microglial nodules and myelin discoloration. Sclerotization of nerve cells with reactive gliosis was also noted in the CA1 sector of ventral hippocampus. The pattern of changes is comparable with the most frequently observed pathological abnormalities observed in the CNS of humans after alcohol abuse.