The assessment of alcohol effects on red blood cell indices in rats.

Introduction: Alcohol has many serious effects on cells and tissues and consequently causes major health diseases. Erythrocyte functions are depending on many factors which are shown increased in red blood cells (RBCs) dysfunction is related to alcoholism. Objective: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effects of alcohol on erythrocyte indices. Materials and Methods: The experiment includes 20 rats divided into four groups under the same environment and same weight which are continuously fed with different alcohol concentrations (15%, 20%, and 25%), and one control that feeds with water only for 21 days. Results: The findings are that RBC's indices increased significantly (P* < 0.05) with the alcohol concentrations such as mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (Hb) (MCH), MCH concentration, Hb, and hematocrit except the RBC counts. Conclusion: In conclusion, alcoholism can induce different effects on RBC indices particularly size and mass of Hb and its concentration in RBCs which can cause anemia and may return normal after alcohol abstinence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]