Lipid Turnover in Alcoholics Before and After an Ethanol Load

Alcohol ingestion decreases plasma free fatty acids (FFAs) and lipid oxidation. This study was conducted to determine palmitate turnover in alcoholics during a short abstinence period and after an ethanol load and in a group of nonalcoholic control subjects, looking for correlations between palmitate turnover, FFA, acetate, and acetoacetate/β hydroxybutyrate ratio (AKBR). Palmitate C14 turnover was studied in five alcoholics during early abstinence and after a 0.8 g/kg ethanol load, and in five nonalcoholic normal controls. Plasma levels of FFA, acetate, acetoacetate, and β hydroxybutyrate were measured before and during the ethanol load. A needle hepatic biopsy was performed in alcoholics. FFA levels, palmitate flux, oxidation, and nonoxidative disposal were similar in alcoholics compared with control subjects, decreasing significantly after the ethanol load in both groups. AKBR and ketone bodies were similar in both groups in the basal period. After the alcohol infusion, AKBR decreased significantly. Acetoacetate levels did not change, and β hydroxybutyrate and total ketone bodies increased significantly in alcoholics and control subjects. A positive correlation was found between FFA levels and palmitate flux. Liver biopsies showed mild changes in the patients studied. The similar inhibition of lipid turnover, FFA release, and the drop in AKBR observed after an alcohol load in alcoholics and control subjects suggest that this effect is mediated by alcohol metabolism and not by metabolic alterations present in alcoholics.