Chronic alcohol consumption induces lipofuscin deposition in the rat hippocampus.

Previous investigations have suggested that chronic alcohol consumption accelerates a number of age-related changes in the cerebellar cortex and hippocampal formation. In the cerebellum, alcohol-feeding has been shown to accelerate the intracellular deposition of lipofuscin. In order to determine whether alcohol administration has a similar effect on hippocampal lipofuscin deposition, we studied the pattern of lipofuscin deposition in alcohol-fed rats for periods of 1, 3, 6, 12 and 18 months and compared the results with those obtained in the respective pair-fed controls. A precocious and progressive deposition of lipofuscin pigment was found in both CA1 and CA3 neurons in Ammon's horn hippocampal fields after 3 and 6 months of alcohol feeding, respectively. These results parallel those observed during normal aging and reinforce the hypothesis of a close link between chronic alcohol consumption and a premature nerve cell aging.