Foetal and lactational exposure to alcohol increases oxidative capacity of brown adipose tissue in the rat. A possible relationship to cot death.

The effect was studied of chronic alcohol intake in the rat during pregnancy and lactation on the brown adipose tissue (BAT) in pups. The idea was to find a possible relationship to cot death since in some cot death victims increased amounts of BAT have been observed. Exposure to ethanol increased the relative weight of the brown adipose tissue in pups and enhanced both its total protein content and the activities of the oxidative enzymes, succinate dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase. In the BAT of pups sympathetic activity, as demonstrated by noradrenaline, was also increased by long-term exposure to alcohol. In theory, an increased thermogenic capacity of the BAT in the newborn together with other factors such as emotional stress and infections could lead to death from hyperthermia, in which case only non-specific morphological signs would be found in the cadaver.