[Characteristics of the brain lesion in experimental alcoholism in young animals].
Morphohistochemical changes in the cortical structures were studied comparatively in 56 adult and young rats during two-month alcoholization and after its discontinuation. It was demonstrated that in young animals, both compensatory processes and signs of damage were more pronounced, with various cerebral components reacting differently. Thus, the neuronal bodies displayed little change while there were marked impairments in their axons. Young animals exhibited greater vascular damage whereas their glial reaction was on the contrary more adequate to experimental conditions. Nevertheless, young animals in our model experiments showed no irreversible impairments in their cerebral cortex which could be indicative of the malignancy of juvenile alcoholism. In short-term temporary alcohol intoxication, the morphofunctional resources of the cortex can recover completely following ethanol withdrawal. Evaluating the alterations detected in the cortical nerve tissue, it appears reasonable to classify them as a manifestation of the morphohistochemical constituent of the multi-level protective compensatory syndrome in alcoholism.