A comparative study on effect of continuous radon inhalation on several-time acute alcohol-induced oxidative damages of liver and brain in mouse

We examined the effect of continuous radon inhalation on acute alcohol-induced oxidative damage of mouse liver and brain. Assay of antioxidative functions indicated that lipid peroxide levels in both the liver and brain of the alcohol-treated mice were significantly higher than those of the saline-treated mice. However, the lipid peroxide level in the liver, but not in the brain, of alcohol-treated mice was significantly decreased by radon inhalation whereas that in the brain of saline-treated mice, but not in the liver of saline-treated mice, was significantly increased by radon inhalation. These findings suggest that radon inhalation inhibits alcohol-induced oxidative damage of liver due to activation of antioxidative functions and that radon inhalation exert only a week effect on the brains in comparing with the livers. They further suggest that alcohol administration protects against oxidative damage of the brain that is induced by radon inhalation. (author)