COMPARISON OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC ETHANOL ADMINISTRATION ON RATES OF ETHANOL ELIMINATION IN THE RAT INVIVO

Rats were treated with ethanol employing both acute (one 6.5 g/kg dose or three 5.0 g/kg doses) and chronic (40 days treatment with the Porta diet) models. The magnitude of the increase in the rate of ethanol elimination with all three methods of treatment was similar (52-79 per cent). Furthermore, the increased rate persisted after removal of ethanol for the same time intervals irrespective of the method of treatment. The half-time of the decline was between 20 and 24 hr with all methods. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that increases in ethanol elimination due to acute as well as chronic treatment with alcohol are mediated via similar mechanisms. © 1979.