Department of Psychology, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Department of Neuroscience, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
J Neurotrauma. 2020 Jan 15;37(2):273-285. doi: 10.1089/neu.2019.6656. Epub 2019 Sep 30.
Alcohol is the most commonly abused drug by young adults across North America. Although alcohol consumption itself incurs a risk of neurological damage, it is also a significant risk factor for traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI among young adults is described as a modern healthcare epidemic. The drastic changes occurring within their neurological networks put young adults at greater risk for developing long-term post-traumatic deficits. Contradictory findings have been indicated regarding the effects of alcohol consumption on TBI outcomes in adults, with some studies demonstrating detrimental effects, whereas others suggest neuroprotective abilities. However, little is known about the effects of alcohol consumption on TBI outcomes during the sensitive stage of early adulthood. Young adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to one of six experimental conditions: Pre-injury alcohol+TBI; Pre-injury alcohol+Sham; Pre- and Post-injury alcohol+TBI; Pre- and Post-injury alcohol+Sham; No alcohol+TBI; No alcohol+Sham. Alcohol consumption groups received an amount of 10% v/v ethanol solution based on the animals' weight. Following the injury, the rats were subjected to a behavioral test battery to assess post-concussive symptomology. Overall, chronic binge drinking significantly improved TBI outcomes related to motor coordination and balance, whereas binge drinking in general significantly decreased anxiety-like behaviors. Additionally, in many cases, chronic binge drinking appears to return the TBI animal's behavioral outcomes to levels comparable to those of the no alcohol sham animals. Thus, the results suggest that alcohol may exhibit neuroprotective abilities in the context of early adulthood TBI.
酒精是北美年轻人中最常滥用的药物。尽管饮酒本身会导致神经损伤的风险，但它也是创伤性脑损伤 (TBI) 的一个重要危险因素。年轻人中的 TBI 被描述为现代医疗保健的流行病。他们的神经网络中发生的剧烈变化使年轻人更容易出现长期创伤后缺陷。关于饮酒对成年人 TBI 结果的影响，存在相互矛盾的发现，一些研究表明有害影响，而另一些研究则表明具有神经保护能力。然而，对于在成年早期这一敏感阶段饮酒对 TBI 结果的影响，人们知之甚少。年轻成年雌性 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠被随机分配到六个实验组中的一个：损伤前饮酒+TBI；损伤前饮酒+假手术；损伤前和损伤后饮酒+TBI；损伤前和损伤后饮酒+假手术；无酒精+TBI；无酒精+假手术。饮酒组根据动物体重接受 10%v/v 乙醇溶液的剂量。受伤后，大鼠接受行为测试组合，以评估脑震荡后的症状。总体而言，慢性 binge 饮酒显著改善了与运动协调和平衡相关的 TBI 结果，而 binge 饮酒总体上显著降低了焦虑样行为。此外，在许多情况下，慢性 binge 饮酒似乎使 TBI 动物的行为结果恢复到与无酒精假手术动物相当的水平。因此，结果表明，酒精在成年早期 TBI 中可能具有神经保护能力。
