Increased brain uptake and oxidation of acetate in heavy drinkers
Abstract
When a person consumes ethanol, the body quickly begins to convert it to acetic acid, which circulates in the blood and can serve as a source of energy for the brain and other organs. This study used 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy to test whether chronic heavy drinking is associated with greater brain uptake and oxidation of acetic acid, providing a potential metabolic reward or adenosinergic effect as a consequence of drinking. Seven heavy drinkers, who regularly consumed at least 8 drinks per week and at least 4 drinks per day at least once per week, and 7 light drinkers, who consumed fewer than 2 drinks per week were recruited. The subjects were administered &2-13C)acetate for 2 hours and scanned throughout that time with magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the brain to observe natural 13C abundance of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and the appearance of 13C-labeled glutamate, glutamine, and acetate. Heavy drinkers had approximately 2-fold more brain acetate relative to blood and twice as much labeled glutamate and glutamine. The results show that acetate transport and oxidation are faster in heavy drinkers compared with that in light drinkers. Our finding suggests that a new therapeutic approach to supply acetate during alcohol detoxification may be beneficial.
Introduction
Alcohol is the most used recreational substance and one of the most widely abused drugs in the world. Alcohol use is characterized by CNS intoxication symptoms, impaired brain activity, poor motor coordination, and behavioral changes. The impairments in CNS activities are due to alcohol’s effect on synthesis, release, and signaling of neuron transmitters, including glutamate, GABA, and other neuron transmitters
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Destroy user interface control3). Alcohol use also affects insulin sensitivity that regulates protein, carbohydrate, and fat metabolism (
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Destroy user interface control4). Chronic abuse of alcohol can result in tolerance and physical dependence. Although significant advances in understanding of alcohol’s effects have been made over the past decades, the pathogenesis of alcohol use and abuse is not fully understood
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Destroy user interface control5). Understanding the mechanisms that lead to tolerance and dependence may give valuable insight into alcohol addiction and vulnerability and ultimately result in effective therapeutic intervention to facilitate detoxification.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3613911/
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