Interactions of ethanol and caffeine on apoptosis in the rat cerebellum (voluntary ethanol consumers).

Ethanol alters motricity, learning, cognition, and cellular metabolism in the cerebellum. The combination of ethanol with caffeine by consuming "energy drinks" is becoming increasingly popular among young people. We analyzed the use of ethanol and caffeine on apoptosis in the cerebellum of UChB rats. The adult rats were divided into three groups (n = 14/group): UChB group: rats fed with 1:10 (v/v) ethanol ad libitum (free choice for water or ethanol) drinking from >1.9 mL of ethanol/kg body weight/day, Control group and UChB/caffeine group (free choice for water or ethanol + caffeine 300 mg/L). The treatments occurred from Day 100 till Day 150, totalizing 50 days of ethanol/caffeine ingestion. Cerebellar sections were subjected to immunohistochemistry and gene expression for Real Time-PCR (RT-PCR) for Caspase-3, XIAP, and insulin-like growth factor 1-receptor (IGF-1R). The results showed a significant increase in the gene expression of Caspase-3 and XIAP in UChB group. On the other hand, the animals of the UChB/caffeine group showed similar results to the Controls. Regarding IGFR-1, there was greater expression in the UChB groups with strong labeling in Purkinje cells. Ethanol produces neuronal and glial neurodegeneration on the cerebellum of UChB rats. The simultaneous ingestion of ethanol and caffeine reversed the ethanol damages acting caffeine with a neuroprotective effect.