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Toluene concentrations in 9 brain regions of acutely exposed rats and that in 11 brain regions of a human case who inhaled toluene prior to death are described. After exposure to toluene by inhalation (2000 or 10,000 ppm) for 0.5 h or by oral dosing (400 mg/kg), rats were killed by decapitation 0.5 and 4 h after onset of inhalation and 2 and 10 h after oral ingestion. After each experimental condition the highest range of brain region/blood toluene concentration ratio (BBCR) was in the brain stem regions (2.85-3.22) such as the pons and medulla oblongata, the middle range (1.77-2.12) in the midbrain, thalamus, caudate-putamen, hypothalamus and cerebellum, and the lowest range (1.22-1.64) in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. These distribution patterns were quite constant. Toluene concentration in various brain regions were unevenly distributed and directly related blood levels. In a human case who had inhaled toluene vapor, the distribution among brain regions was relatively similar to that in rats, the highest concentration ratios being in the corpus callosum (BBCR: 2.66) and the lowest in the hippocampus (BBCR: 1.47).

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This paper reports, for the first time, on the analysis of ethanol (EtOH) and acetaldehyde (AcH) concentrations in the blood and brains of Aldh2-knockout (Aldh2-KO) and C57B6/6J (WT) mice. Animals were administrated EtOH (1.0, 2.0 or 4.0 g/kg) or 4-methylpyrazole (4-MP, 82 mg/kg) plus AcH (50, 100 or 200 mg/kg) intraperitoneally. During the blood tests, samples from the orbital sinus of the eye were collected. During the brain tests, dialysates were collected every 5 min (equal to a 15 µl sample) from the striatum using in vivo brain microdialysis. Samples were collected at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 60 min intervals post-EtOH and -AcH injection, and then analyzed by head-space GC. In the EtOH groups, high AcH levels were found in the blood and brains of Aldh2-KO mice, while only small traces of AcH were seen in the blood and brains of WT mice. No significant differences in EtOH levels were observed between the WT and the Aldh2-KO mice for either the EtOH dose. EtOH concentrations in the brain were comparable to the EtOH concentrations in the blood, but the AcH concentrations in the brain were four to five times lower compared to the AcH concentrations in the blood. In the AcH groups, high AcH levels were found in both WT and Aldh2-KO mice. Levels reached a sharp peak at 5 min and then quickly declined for 60 min. Brain AcH concentrations were almost equal to the concentrations found in the blood, where the AcH concentrations were approximately two times higher in the Aldh2-KO mice than in the WT mice, both in the blood and the brain. Our results suggest that systemic EtOH and AcH administration can cause a greater increase in AcH accumulation in the blood and brains of Aldh2-KO mice, where EtOH concentrations in the Aldh2-KO mice were comparable to the EtOH concentrations in the WT mice. Furthermore, detection of EtOH and AcH in the blood and brain was found to be dose-dependent in both genotypes.