The effect of chronic ethanol intake on brain NGF level and on NGF-target tissues of adult mice.

The effect of ethanol consumption on the forebrain and hypothalamus of adult mice was investigated. A consistent decrease of biological activity and of nerve growth factor (NGF) immunoreactivity was observed in the hippocampus and hypothalamus of alcohol-treated mice. Biochemical studies also indicate that chronic ethanol intake causes a reduction in the level of choline-acetyltransferase in the septum, hippocampus and striatum, but not in the cortex and other brain regions. This study provides evidence that long-term ethanol intake causes impairment of brain NGF level and of the cholinergic enzyme, regulated by NGF, suggesting that NGF synthesis and/or biological activity is affected in alcohol-related brain neuropathology.