Ganglioside alterations in various brain areas, liver and kidney from chronic alcoholic rats.

Ethanol was administered to Wistar male rats for 4 or 10 months and to female rats for 21 2 months (including gestation), using a 20% ethanol-water solution as the only fluid. Gangliosides (expressed as NeuAc) from forebrain, cerebellum, brain stem, liver and kidney of the alcoholic rats and their newborns were determined by densitometry. Forebrain and liver from males showed a statistically significant increase in their ganglioside-NeuAc content after 4 months of alcohol ingestion. In addition, when the treatment lasted up to 10 months the increase was larger. In contrast, a significant decrease of cerebellar and kidney ganglioside-NeuAc content was found after 10 months. The ganglioside pattern of the different sources displayed a variable profile. Moreover, while alcohol fed mothers showed a significant increase in the ganglioside-NeuAc content of cerebellum and liver, and a decrease in the brain stem, newborns of mothers given alcohol in their drinking water exhibited an increase of ganglioside-NeuAc content in cerebellum, liver and kidney and a decrease in forebrain.