Modification of ethanol-induced motor impairment by diet, diuretic, mineralocorticoid, or prostaglandin synthetase inhibitor.

Ethanol-induced motor impairment in rats was measured following a number of different dietary or drug treatments. A low sodium diet combined with injections of the diuretic furosemide, but not a low sodium diet alone, increased motor impairment while a high sodium diet decreased impairment. Blood ethanol measurements indicated that both effects were probably mediated by changes in blood ethanol levels. However, the synthetic mineralocorticoid, DOCA, and the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory, indomethacin, both altered ethanol-induced motor impairment without concomitant changes in blood ethanol levels. The aldosterone antagonist, spironolactone, failed to produce any effect. Since all treatments can modulate activity in the renin-angiotension system, this system appears to play a role in altering some of the behavioral properties of ethanol.