Cerebral alcohol dehydrogenase-- a marker of individual ethanol tolerance in ethanol intoxication

Brain compartments differing by topical chemical location of alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH) were studied on forensic medical material. ADH were found in magnocytes of giant-cell reticular formation, neuronal nuclei in the blue spot, and capillaries, but not in neurons of the ganglionary layer of the cerebral limbic cortex. ADH activity in the studied brain compartments depended on the level of exogenous ethanolemia. Increased ADH activity in the reticular formation magnocytes characterized the individual tolerance in severe ethanol intoxication. Cerebral ADHs are markers of ethanol intoxication.