The neurotoxicity of alcohols

Alcohols are widely used organic solvents. Other than ethanol and methanol, there have been few reports of their neurotoxic effects. Relying on the medical literature of ethanol's toxicity and a small number of experimental animal studies, the following points emerge: Alcohols can produce their neurotoxic effects through the inhalation route, as would be encountered in the industrial setting. An extensive series of alcohols have been tested producing a high correlation between their ability to enter into membranes and the dose needed to produce acute intoxication. Several lines of evidence indicate that alcohols produce their wide spectrum of effects by the large amounts that accumulate in tissue disrupting membrane-bound processes. Beside acute toxicity, which poses many hazards for those exposed in the industrial setting, many alcohols could produce permanent brain damage with prolonged exposure as well as damage to the developing fetus carried by female workers.