Renal effects of alcohol withdrawal in five-week alcohol-treated rats

The effects of alcohol withdrawal on renal function following renal ischemia was examined in rats fed a liquid containing ethanol for 5-week alcohol treatment.

For alcohol-treated rats, animals were fed with an ethanol-containing diet for 5 weeks. In withdrawal studies, the alcoholic diet was replaced by a regular diet following 5-week alcohol treatment. Renal ischemia was induced by clamping the renal artery for 20 minutes and renal function was evaluated 24 hours later.

Alcohol ingestion for 5 weeks did not alter the renal function in the absence of renal ischemia. Mean (+/- SD) glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and renal plasma flow rate (RPFR) measured 24 hours after ischemia in control rats were 430 +/- 29.6 microliters/min/g/kidney weight (gKW) and 1.4 +/- 0.17ml/min/gKW, whereas in alcohol-treated rats, they were 117.2 +/- 35.2 microliters/min/gKW and 0.31 +/- 0.12ml/min/gKW, which values were significantly lower than controls (p < .05). However, when alcohol was withdrawn for 1 week, the renal function of rats after ischemia was no different from that of control rats (GFR = 413.9 +/- 66.3 microliters/min/gKW and RPFR = 2.14 +/- 0.7 ml/min/gKW). As for renal histopathology, tubular damage was milder 1 week after alcohol withdrawal compared to that observed in rats fed the alcohol-containing diet for 5 weeks.

The findings suggest renal damage induced in rats by exposure to alcohol for 5 weeks was reversed when alcohol was withdrawn for 1 week before renal ischemia.