The effect of ethanol on the ability of guinea-pigs to survive severe cold

Some parameters related to withstanding severe cold (-20 degrees C) after administration of increasing doses of ethanol were investigated using guinea-pigs. The animals had been reared either at 22-23 degrees C or at 17-18 degrees C. They received ethanol in doses of 0.8 g, 1.2 g, 1.4 g or 1.6 g per kg of body weight. The fall of rectal temperature and its level at death were registered. The survival time, ethanol concentration in the blood and the brain, serum glucose and serum FFA at death were determined. In the animals reared at 22-23 degrees C the ethanol doses of 1.2-1.6 g/kg caused a significant shortening of the survival time and accelerated the fall of the rectal temperature. In addition the rectal temperature at death after ethanol was lower than in the controls. In the animals reared at 17-18 degrees C the ethanol doses used did not have any significant effect on the survival time and the rectal temperature. In both groups, ethanol concentration in the brain was lower (about 20-40%) than in the blood, the difference being greater in the group reared at 22-23 degrees C. Ethanol had no effect on the glucose concentrations. Serum FFA levels were slightly lower in animals reared at 22-23 degrees C than in those grown in the cooler temperature. It became evident that ethanol has a dose dependent deleterious effect on the thermoregulation of animals reared in warm (22-23 degrees C). The effect was seen at and above the dose of 1.2 g/kg. The results indicate further even a slight acclimation to cold was able to abolish the effect of these rather great doses of ethanol in severe cold exposure.