Individuals with alcoholic neuropathy can make a partial or full recovery, depending on the extent and duration of their alcohol consumption. People should note that while “alcoholic neuropathy” is the current medical term, some healthcare professionals are beginning to use the alcohol neuropathy term “alcohol-related neuropathy” to decrease stigma surrounding the condition. Alcoholic neuropathy is a severe condition caused by excessive alcohol use. Damage to the nerves leads to unusual sensations in the limbs, reduced mobility, and loss of some bodily functions.
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However, experts still do not have a full understanding of how alcoholic neuropathy happens, which can make treatment challenging. Even though alcoholic neuropathy may not go away, there are things you can do to cope with this condition. Alcohol also alters the function of the stomach, liver, and kidneys in ways that prevent the body from properly detoxifying waste material. This waste then builds up and harms many regions of the body, including the nerves. Alcoholic neuropathy signs and symptoms can progress gradually and are usually subtle at first.
Review Date 4/29/2023
- The demyelination is explained as the result of a slowing down (decceleration) of axoplasmic flow and a degradation of the quality of biological properties of axonal enzymes and proteins.
- This finding suggests that acupuncture-related interventions can provide patients with benefits in improving CIPN symptoms, pain, and QoL.
Further, ECG changes and functions of the digestive tract (dyspeptic symptoms, stomach and gallbladder motility, orocecal transit time) can also be assessed [162, 165]. PCT seems to be valuable due to the correlation between prolongation of pupil oscillation and exacerbations of cardiovascular symptoms which presents the colinear involvement of parasympathetic division of ANS. Researchers have not determined if this is caused by the effects of alcohol on the brain or is the result of thiamine deficiency. A diet poor in nutrients or avoiding eating can make nutritional deficiencies worse.
Alcoholic polyneuropathy
In vivo study on rats showed impaired retrograde axonal transport [107, 108]. Thus, ALN might be induced by the combination of the effects of the direct activity of alcohol metabolites on the nerve fibers along with nutritional deficiencies primarily in a form of thiamine deficiency. The journal further reports that alcoholic polyneuropathy is likely caused by nutritional deficiencies and the depletion of thiamine that is caused by heavy and long-term drinking. It is most likely that drinking a lot of alcohol over several years causes direct damage to nerve cells and can also contribute to nutritional deficiencies in the body; these may both be factors in the onset of alcoholic polyneuropathy. Drinking a lot of alcohol over a long period of time causes nerve damage that can lead to the onset of alcoholic neuropathy.
Alcohol-Related Neurologic Disease
A person should speak with a doctor if they are experiencing any symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy or if they are concerned about their alcohol use. A person who drinks alcohol excessively may start to feel a tingling sensation in their limbs. Diagnosis usually involves a healthcare provider collecting a medical history, performing a medical and neurological exam, and performing blood and urine tests. Treatment options include steps to quit alcohol use and managing symptoms of the disease. The first step in treating alcoholic neuropathy includes stopping alcohol use altogether. If your drinking is out of your control, know that many treatment options are available.
Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes
Alcoholic neuropathy is not typically fatal, but it can cause serious complications due to loss of nerve function. Without treatment, alcohol-induced effects can cause permanent damage and severely affect the quality of life. First, blinding of participants and researchers in the included studies was either not reported or not performed, which somehow led to within-study bias. Due to the nature of acupuncture, the stimulation of acupoints with needles or electricity is always perceived by patients and known to practitioners. If the outcome evaluators were blinded, measurement bias would be minimized. Similarly, if the statistical analysts were blinded, detection bias would be minimized.
Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy include:
The data indicates that there is both small and large fibre loss in alcohol-related neuropathy, but that small fibre loss is generally predominant [3, 51, 53, 56, 59, 63, 86]. Thiamine serves as an important coenzyme in carbohydrate metabolism and neuron development. The lack of thiamine in the nervous system affects the cellular structure and can cause cell membrane damage and irregular ectopic cells. Other vitamin deficiencies seen with alcohol abuse include but are not limited to, B vitamins, folic acid, and vitamin E. Poor absorption and low intake of these vitamins have clinical features of dermatitis, neuropathy, and anorexia. Alcohol causes neuropathy via multifactorial processes, many of which are still under investigation.
The primary treatment for alcoholic neuropathy is seeking help for alcohol use disorder. Talk with your doctor about treatment and support options available to you. Because the symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy can be similar to those of other conditions, your doctor may first rule out other possible causes of your symptoms. People with peripheral neuropathy usually describe the pain as stabbing, burning or tingling. Sometimes symptoms get better, especially if caused by a condition that can be treated. Chronic heavy drinkers may be at risk for several different alcohol-related neurological issues.
It is possible that hepatic dysfunction and alcoholic toxicity each cause neuropathy independently, and that there is frequently overlap between the two. It may also be that comorbid hepatic dysfunction is a risk factor for alcohol-related peripheral neuropathy. Further studies are required to develop a greater understanding of the interaction these entities. Due to the breadth of the literature surrounding this topic, this review shall focus exclusively upon peripheral neuropathy, without discussing autonomic neuropathy. Alcoholic neuropathy refers to nerve damage resulting from chronic heavy alcohol use.