In vitro comparison of the effects of ethanol and acetaldehyde on dorsal root ganglion neurons.

Results of previous experiments designed to investigate the role of acetaldehyde, the primary metabolite of ethanol, have been contradictory. Experiments have provided evidence that supports and refutes the idea that acetaldehyde is responsible for the teratogenic effects observed in fetal alcohol syndrome. In the present study, cell culture techniques were used to examine the effects of acetaldehyde, both independently and in conjunction with ethanol. The purpose was to determine whether acetaldehyde had any effect on survival and process outgrowth of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons cultured in vitro. This study revealed that acetaldehyde was as toxic to DRG survival as is ethanol, but had a lesser effect on neurite outgrowth than ethanol. Also, acetaldehyde and ethanol do not act synergistically to damage neurons in culture. The results indicate that, although acetaldehyde is probably not solely responsible for ethanol neurotoxicity, it does exhibit a secondary toxicity that could be the subject of future studies.