REVERSAL OF WITHDRAWAL LESIONS OF THE HEA RT AND LIVER BY ADAPTATION TO INTERMITTENT HYPOXIA WHEN DISCONTINUING ETHANOL IN CHRONICALLY ALCOHOLIZED ANIMALS

Adaptation to intermittent hypoxia in the hypobaric altitude chamber s howed a two-fold d re e in ethanol consumption in chronically alcoholi zed rats and attenuated or arrested the withdrawal syndrome. The impac t of adaptation to the withdrawal syndrome was that it prevented the d evelopment of withdrawal analgesia, higher alcohol consumption after i ts withdrawal, withdrawal hepatic activation of lipid oxidation produc ts and blood release of the hepatic specific enzymes fructose monophos phatatldolase and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. Concurrently, the ada ptation prevented the withdrawal fall of the cardiac fibrillation thre shold and marked disorders of ventricular contraction and relaxation. The paper discusses whether adaptation to intermittent hypoxia can be used in the management of the types of alcoholism in whose development the withdrawal plays the key role.