In the present study, an attempt has been made to investigate the effect of
ethanol consumption on the distribution of lead in different regions of br
ain and body organs of male albino rats. Lead when administered intragastri
cally, for a period of eight weeks resulted in almost uniform accumulation
of this metal in all the regions of brain, which increased by almost two fo
ld when ethanol was given along with lead. Lead was also seen to compartmen
talise in almost all the tissues of the body to varying extents, with the h
ighest accumulation in the kidney. A progressive and appreciable accumulati
on of lead was seen in blood with a concomitant increase in ZPP levels in a
nimals during the course of treatment, which increased further when ethanol
was administered along with lead. The activity of delta-ALAD and AChE in b
lood was significantly decreased in lead as well as ethanol treated animals
. However, in animals coexposed to lead and ethanol, the inhibition of delt
a-ALAD was not significantly different, when compared to only lead-treated
animals. The results suggested that animals exposed to ethanol and lead sim
ultaneously accumulate higher levels of lead in blood and brain of animals
making them more vulnerable to the haematological and neurological toxic ef
fects of lead. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. Ail rights reserved.