EFFECT OF ACUTE ALCOHOL INGESTION ON THE FIBRINOLYTIC-ACTIVITY

Effects of alcohol consumption on the function of fibrinolytic system were studied. The group which consisted of 12 male volunteers consumed standardised amounts of whisky. 3 blood samples for the assessment of euglobulin clot lysis time, t-PA, urokinase, PAI-1 and its complex with t-PA were taken: 1 before, 1 taken 45 min after and 1 on the next morning after drinking. No change was noted in those parameters 45 min after the consumption of ethanol. Alcohol ingestion had a specific tendency to decrease fibrinolytic activity on the next day after drinking. Therefore, acetaldehyde, the main metabolite of ethanol, rather than ethanol itself may be responsible for the enhancement of PAI-1 secretion by endothelial cells. These results show that the fibrinolytic system does not account for commonly accepted protection from coronary heart disease mediated by moderate consumption of alcohol.