Interaction of ethanol and xylene in their effects on erythrocytes and other haematological parameters in the rat.
Rats were given ethanol in drinking water for 8 months, followed by inhalation exposure (5 h daily) to 12,000 mg m-3 xylene for 9 days. Combined exposure to xylene and ethanol induced the same changes in the haematological, biochemical and biophysical parameters of the erythrocyte membrane as those found previously in our experiment with toluene-ethanol. Macrocytosis, a decrease in sedimentation rate and erythrocyte packing difference, as well as decreased fluidity of the erythrocytes membrane in the middle zone of the lipid bilayer, were the most significant changes of exposure to ethanol and xylene.