Nonoxidative ethanol and methanol changes in the heart and brain tissue of alcohol abusers

Fatty acid ethylesters (FAEE) are synthesized from ethanol and fatty acids in the heart and brain. Similarly fatty acid methylesters (FAME) are synthesized from methanol and fatty acids. Whereas methanol reportedly indicates recent or chronic consumption of alcoholic beverages, an elevated serum methanol concentration (SMC) indicates mainly chronic alcohol intake. We compared levels of FAEE and FAME in cardiac and brain tissues with the blood ethanol concentration(BEC) and SMC in 18 alcohol abusers and 29 control subjects without history of alcohol abuse(control) to clarify the relationships between BEC and FAEE levels and that between SMC and FAME levels. We also assessed the possibilities of discriminating the alcohol abusers from the control group and of detecting FAEE and FAME accumulations in cardiac and brain tissues. Levels of FAEE and FAME were determined by gas chromatography (GC) in autopsied cardiac and brain tissues. Heart FAEE (HFAEE) levels correlated with BEC (r = 0.61) and it was possible to distinguish between alcohol abusers and controls using discriminant analysis. HFAEE levels in the alcohol abusing group were elevated even with low BEC. Therefore, HFAEE levels indicate ethanol accumulation in cardiac tissues of alcohol abusers. Brain FAEE (BFAEE) and heart and brain FAME (HFAME and BFAME) levels did not correlated closely with BEC and SMC, respectively. However, there are some possible means of discriminating between the two groups in terms of BEC and BFAEE, and SMC and FAME respectively, using discriminant analysis. Employing this analysis, the rate of misclassification was 17-25.5%. The mean levels of HFAEE, BFAEE, HFAME and BFAME were higher in the alcohol abusing group than in the control group, even when their BEC and SMC were quite low.