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Abstract #4074

Neurochemical Alterations and Behavioral Impairments in Late Stage Alcoholic Liver Fibrosis in Mice

Su Xu1,2, Wenjun Zhu1,2, JiaBei Wang3, Xi Chen4, Rao P Gullapalli1,2, Edward Herskovits1, Elias Melhem1, and Qi Cao1

1Radiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, 2Core for Translational Research in Imaging @Maryland, Baltimore, MD, United States, 3Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD, United States, 4Harvard Medical School McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States

A mouse model of late-stage alcoholic liver fibrosis (LALF) was used to investigate changes of neurochemical levels in specific brain regions that may relate to behavioral changes at LALF. Higher glutamine levels result in osmotic/oxidative stress were found in the thalamus and hippocampus of the alcohol-treated mice than in controls. Thalamic levels of taurine and creatine were significantly diminished and were strongly correlated with the alcohol-induced depressive behavior observed in an open field test. In addition, significant elevations in hippocampal glutamate were indicative of upregulated local glutamatergic activation. These pilot findings provide novel insight into the development of alcohol-induced HE.

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