Abstract
Alcohol was administered to mice by inhalation, over periods of 1 to 13 days. Daily injections of pyrazole stabilized blood alcohol levels and thus maintained a continuous state of intoxication. The empirical relationship between alcohol concentration in the inspired air and that in the blood was determined. A syndrome of withdrawal signs developed when the mice were removed from the vapor chamber. It could be graded by scoring a characteristic convulsion elicited by handling the animals. This score presumably represents the extent of physical dependence. The intensity of withdrawal convulsions increased with duration of exposure to alcohol vapor and with blood alcohol levels. Single episodes of intoxication produced degrees of physical dependence that varied with the total dose of alcohol (blood alcohol level X days). Mild withdrawal signs appeared after a single injection of alcohol, with or without pyrazole treatment. The signs began to appear when the mice were still intoxicated. A dose of alcohol sufficient to produce a moderate degree of physical dependence did not affect the total activity of liver alcohol dehydrogenase. Liver catalase activity was depressed by pyrazole in vivo, but not in vitro.
Footnotes
- Received June 7, 1971.
- Accepted October 27, 1971.
- © 1972 by The Williams & Wilkins Co.