Adrenomedullary responses to acute and chronic ethanol administration to rats

The variations in levels of adrenal dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (NA) and adrenaline (A) after acute and chronic ethanol administration have been studied in rats. A relatively moderate dose of ethanol (2 g/kg) induced significant increases in DA levels, while NA and A concentrations did not change, or decreased depending on the interval of time elapsed after ethanol injection. These findings, together with those obtained in rats pretreated with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine methyl ester (AMT), indicate an increased turnover of adrenal catecholamines (CA) after acute ethanol treatment. Chronic ethanol intake leads to significant increases in DA levels in the adrenal glands of rats subjected to ethanol feeding for 12 and 16 days; no changes were observed in NA or A concentrations in these groups of animals. After 30 days of ethanol ingestion, the levels of the three CA are within the control range, a fact that could suggest some adaptation of the sympatho-adrenal system to ethanol. After 16 days of treatment, tolerance to acute effects of ethanol on adrenomedullary system was not clear.