This investigation received full approval from the Loyola University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Adult male Sprague Dawley rats were obtained at 16 weeks of age (375 to 399 g range), (Harlan, Indianapolis, IN) and acclimated to the laboratory environment for 1 week. Prior to treatment, animals were randomly assigned to one of the following treatment groups with an n of 12 animals per group, chosen based on a power analysis performed using preliminary gene array data generated in our laboratory (not shown). For animals receiving 1 week of treatment the groups were: saline control (C1), and binge alcohol-treated (A1). The one-week binge alcohol group will also be referred to in the text as acute binge alcohol-treated rats. For animals receiving 4 weeks of treatment the treatment groups were: saline control (C4), ibandronate-treated (I4), binge alcohol-treated (A4), and binge alcohol and ibandronate-treated (AI4). The 4-week binge alcohol group is also referred to in the text as chronic binge alcohol-treated rats. Animals were housed in pairs, with paired animals assigned to the same treatment group. Animals were weighed prior
