[The dynamics of ethanol metabolism in patients with chronic alcoholism]

The results of the investigations carried out in alcoholics and nonalcoholics regarding certain aspects of ethanol metabolism are presented. The marked interindividual differences in alcohol blood levels and intergroup differences in acetaldehyde levels, through a projection in dynamic process, are commented upon. The programmed ethanolic load induced changes in blood alcohol, within comparable limits, irrespective of subjects' state. At all intervals of postintake determinations, the acetaldehyde concentrations were higher in the alcoholic subjects. No dose-effect relation between the involved elements (ethanol metabolite) was found.