Microstructural White Matter Alterations in Men With Alcohol Use Disorder and Rats With Excessive Alcohol Consumption During Early Abstinence

ImportanceAlthough the detrimental effects of alcohol on the brain are widely acknowledged, observed structural changes are highly heterogeneous, and diagnostic markers for characterizing alcohol-induced brain damage, especially in early abstinence, are lacking. This heterogeneity, likely contributed to by comorbidity factors in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD), challenges a direct link of brain alterations to the pathophysiology of alcohol misuse. Translational studies in animal models may help bridge this causal gap. ObjectiveTo compare microstructural properties extracted using advanced diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in the brains of patients with AUD and a well-controlled rat model of excessive alcohol consumption and monitor the progression of these properties during early abstinence. Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis prospective observational study included 2 cohorts of hospitalized patients with AUD (n=91) and Marchigian Sardinian alcohol-preferring (msP) rats (n=27). In humans cross-sectional comparison were performed with control participants (healthy men [n=36]) and longitudinal comparisons between different points after alcohol withdrawal. In rats, longitudinal comparisons were performed in alcohol-exposed (n=27) and alcohol-naive msP rats (n=9). Human data were collected from March 7, 2013, to August 3, 2016, and analyzed from June 14, 2017, to May 31, 2018; rat data were collected from January 15, 2017, to May 12, 2017, and analyzed from October 11, 2017, to May 28, 2018. Main Outcomes and MeasuresFractional anisotropy and other DTI measures of white matter properties after long-term alcohol exposure and during early abstinence in both species and clinical and demographic variables and time of abstinence after discharge from hospital in patients. ResultsThe analysis included 91 men with AUD (mean [SD] age, 46.1 [9.6] years) and 27 male rats in the AUD groups and 36 male controls (mean [SD] age, 41.7 [9.3] years) and 9 male control rats. Comparable DTI alterations were found between alcohol and control groups in both species, with a preferential involvement of the corpus callosum (fractional anisotropy Cohen d=-0.84 [P<.01] corrected in humans and Cohen d=-1.17 [P<.001] corrected in rats) and the fornix/fimbria (fractional anisotropy Cohen d=-0.92 [P<.001] corrected in humans and d=-1.24 [P<.001] corrected in rats). Changes in DTI were associated with preadmission consumption patterns in patients and progress in humans and rats during 6 weeks of abstinence. Mathematical modeling shows this process to be compatible with a sustained demyelination and/or a glial reaction. Conclusions and RelevanceUsing a translational DTI approach, comparable white matter alterations were found in patients with AUD and rats with long-term alcohol consumption. In humans and rats, a progression of DTI alterations into early abstinence (2-6 weeks) suggests an underlying process that evolves soon after cessation of alcohol use.