Using animal models to identify clinical risk factors in the older population due to alcohol use and misuse

• Published in: Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) Vol. 107; pp. 38 - 43
• Main Authors: Matthews, Douglas B., Rossmann, Gillian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.03.2023; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adults; Age; Aged; Alcohol Drinking - adverse effects; Alcohol Drinking - psychology; Alcohol use; Animal cognition; Animal models; Animals; anxiety; ataxia; Behavior; cognition; Cognitive ability; Consciousness; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Drug abuse; Drug dosages; Drug tolerance; Ethanol; Ethanol - adverse effects; Health care; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Humans; hypothermia; Medical research; Models, Animal; Nervous system; Older people; Population; Psychiatric/Mental Health; Public health; Rats; Risk Factors; aged; anxiety; ataxia; cognition; hypothermia
• ISSN: 0741-8329; 1873-6823; 1873-6823
• DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2022.05.003

The number of people over the age of 65 years old is increasing and understanding health risks associated with the aged population is important. Recent research has revealed that alcohol (ethanol) consumption levels in older demographics remains elevated and often occurs in a dangerous binge pattern. Given ethical constraints on investigating high level or binge pattern alcohol consumption in humans, animal models are often used to study the effects of ethanol. The current review highlights ongoing work revealing that aged rats are often more sensitive to the effects of acute ethanol compared to younger rats. Specifically, aged rats are more sensitive to the motor impairing, hypnotic, hypothermic, and often the cognitive effects of ethanol compared to younger rats. In addition, the development of ethanol tolerance following chronic exposure may have a different temporal pattern in aged rats compared to younger rats. However, the neurobiological mechanisms that cause the increased sensitivity to ethanol in aged animals have yet to be identified. Furthermore, the differential age effects of ethanol highlight clinical risk factors for alcohol misuse in the older human population. Future work is needed to determine underlying CNS mechanisms producing altered effects of ethanol in aged subjects and also the development of educational material concerning ethanol's effects across ages for health care providers working with the aged population. •Aged animals are significantly more sensitive to acute ethanol compared to younger animals.•The increased sensitivity to ethanol-induced effects in aged animals is selective and age-dependent.•Clinical health risks can be attributed, at least in part, to the increased sensitivity to alcohol in the aged population.