Ethanol's disruptive effects upon early breathing plasticity and blood parameters associated with hypoxia and hypercapnia

Exp Neurol. 2021 Jul 2:113796. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2021.113796. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEarly ethanol exposure affects respiratory neuroplasticity; a risk factor associated with the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. High and chronic ethanol doses exert long-lasting effects upon respiratory rates, apneic episodes and ventilatory processes triggered by hypoxia. The present study was performed in 3-9-day-old rat pups. Respiratory processes under normoxic and hypoxic conditions were analyzed in pups intoxicated with different ethanol doses which were pre-exposed or not to the drug. A second major goal was to examine if acute and/or chronic early ethanol exposure affects blood parameters related with hypercapnic or hypoxic states. In Experiment 1, at postnatal day 9, animals previously treated with ethanol (2.0 g/kg) or vehicle (0.0 g/kg) were tested sober or intoxicated with 0.75, 1.37 or 2.00 g/kg ethanol. The test involved sequential air conditions defined as initial normoxia, hypoxia and recovery normoxia. Motor activity was also evaluated. In Experiment 2, blood parameters indicative of possible hypoxic and hypercapnic states were assessed as a function of early chronic or acute experiences with the drug. The main results of Experiment 1 were as follows: i) ethanol's depressant effects upon respiratory rates increased as a function of sequential treatment with the drug (sensitization); ii) ethanol inhibited apneic episodes even when employing the lowest dose at test (0...
Source: Experimental Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Source Type: research