In light of the evidence that TG may play a role in the stimulation of ethanol and fat intake, the next step was to manipulate the TG levels directly to see what effect this might have on the consumption of ethanol. For that purpose, a widely used lipid-lowering drug, gemfibrozil (Lopid), was utilized. Gemfibrozil, a fibrate, binds to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (Fruchart and Duriez, 2006) which increases lipoprotein lipase synthesis and thus enhances the clearance of TG (Donnelly et al., 1994; Frick et al., 1987; Fruchart and Duriez, 2006). In the current study, administration of gemfibrozil caused a suppression of both circulating TG levels and ethanol intake. These effects are opposite to the increase in TG and ethanol intake induced by administration of Intralipid (Carrillo et al., 2004; Leibowitz, 2007). This combination of findings demonstrates that ethanol consumption can be directly influenced by circulating TG. Furthermore, it validates the assertion that a high-fat meal, by raising TG, leads to an increase in ethanol intake which in turn increases the intake of a fat-rich diet, thereby driving a vicious cycle. In
