Hepatic damage produced by long-term alcohol consumption in well-nourished rats

A study of the effect of long-term alcohol consumption on the liver of well-nourished rats is described. Rats fed for 16 weeks on a semipurified diet supplemented with high levels of vitamins and lipotropic factors and alcohol corresponding to 35% of the total caloric intake developed marked fatty changes of the liver. Mild fatty changes were observed in pair-fed controls receiving as isoenergetic equivalent of sucrose instead of alcohol. Intracellular hyaline bodies, corresponding ultrastructurally to giant mitochondria were abundantly found in the hepatocytes of alcoholic rats, while in the controls they were not seen. Te findings in this investigation are postulated to provide further evidence that the long-term intake of alcohol exerts a direct causative role in the pathogenesis of liver damage.