Alcoholic Neuropathy: Causes, Symptoms, & Treatments

Research suggests you can recover from some or all of the nerve damage caused by alcohol-related neuropathy. However, researchers have found that consuming too much alcohol for long periods of time can damage the peripheral nerves. Here we discuss a few of the therapeutic options which are tried and could be tried for prevention and treatment of alcoholic peripheral neuropathy. 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.

• Overconsumption of alcohol may directly harm and hinder the nerves’ ability to communicate information from one body area to another.
• Contact us to learn more about our alcohol addiction treatment programs and begin your journey to recover today.
• 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.
• His calves were mildly swollen and thighs tender; his right deltoid was noticeably sore, as well.

Clinical symptoms associated with alcoholic peripheral neuropathy

The reason for better results in the benfotiamine alone group than in the Milgamma-N group, despite the fact that the benfotiamine dosage was equivalent, is not completely understood. The authors hypothesized that vitamins B6 and B12 might have competed with the effects of vitamin B1 in the Milgamma-N group 97. In another small Russian study, 14 chronic alcoholic men with polyneuropathy were given 450 mg benfotiamine daily for 2 weeks, followed by 300 mg daily for an additional 4 weeks.

Synthesis of results

• If you are struggling with alcohol addiction, seeking treatment can prevent the progress of alcoholic neuropathy.
• However, the limitations of those studies include the lack of the possibility to measure the amount of vitamin B1 in the serum; further, patients who were involved in the study have received an unrefined form of the supplement.
• Alternative therapies like chiropractic care, body manipulation, acupuncture, meditation, and massage therapy can be helpful in managing pain and symptoms of alcoholic polyneuropathy.
• ALN further manifests as weakness and atrophy of muscles due to the damage of greater motor fibers and impaired neuromuscular transmission.
• This study showed that as well as thiamine replacement, corrections of low circulating levels of nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid and vitamin B6 can result in an improvement of alcohol-related peripheral neuropathies.

Although disulfiram has been largely replaced by the non-neurotoxic agents naltrexone and acamprosate for treating alcohol dependence,29 it is still used as a drinking deterrent in many countries outside the United States. A minority of patients receiving chronic disulfiram develop an axonal neuropathy,30 which appears to be dose-related; higher doses cause both a shorter-onset latency and more severe findings. Onset is usually within weeks to several months, and the majority occur within 3 months.

Health Challenges

Nerve damage from chronic alcohol consumption can develop over several years. Overall, research seems to support that alcohol (ethanol) has both direct and indirect toxic effects on the body and nerve function. A 48-year-old man with a history of hyperlipidemia and chronic ethanol abuse presented with 1 day of severe progressive muscle cramps and pain in both legs. Generally, he was relatively well nourished, but he had been on a recent binge and had not eaten for 2 days during the past week. On examination, his mental status was normal, including appropriate affect, orientation, and recall. He had mild tremulousness with his hands outstretched and difficulty holding a cup of water still enough to drink.

Symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy

You may also benefit from a support group to help you reduce your drinking or completely quit drinking alcohol. There are no medications that can help improve loss of sensation, strengthen muscle weakness, or assist with the coordination and https://ecosoberhouse.com/ balance problems caused by alcoholic neuropathy. However, some people notice an improvement in symptoms a few months after discontinuing alcohol intake.

Management of alcoholic neuropathy

• A 48-year-old man with a history of hyperlipidemia and chronic ethanol abuse presented with 1 day of severe progressive muscle cramps and pain in both legs.
• In most cases, the onset is typically slow and insidious and may begin to affect the hands once leg symptoms ascend well above ankle level, thus yielding the classic symmetric stocking-glove sensory pattern.
• Alcoholic polyneuropathy is a neurological disorder in which peripheral nerves throughout the body malfunction simultaneously.
• Your health care provider will perform a physical exam and ask about symptoms.
• By Heidi Moawad, MDHeidi Moawad is a neurologist and expert in the field of brain health and neurological disorders.

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. Epidermal nerve fibre density was assessed in two studies, both of which supported decremental nerve fibre density distally in the lower limb, anecdotally supportive of a length-dependent pattern 53, 63. The sometimes-conflicting findings between biopsy findings may be representative of the complex interplay of pathological factors in alcohol-related peripheral neuropathy and is indicative of the need for further research in this area. Avoiding excessive amounts of alcohol is the primary way to prevent alcoholic neuropathy.

• With multiple treatment centers throughout the United States, American Addiction Centers offers everything from detox and inpatient treatment to outpatient treatment and aftercare.
• Electrodiagnostic studies commonly, but not exclusively, show evidence of coexisting peripheral neuropathy.
• Other associations with alcoholism, such as malnutrition, liver dysfunction, vitamin deficiencies, hormonal alterations, and phosphate deficiency, are independent factors for alcohol myopathy development.

Benfotiamine for the treatment of alcohol related peripheral neuropathy

ROS triggers second messengers involved in central sensitization of dorsal horn cells 41 or they activate spinal glial cells which in turn play an important role in chronic pain 42. Reduced glutathione is a major low molecular weight scavenger of free radicals in cytoplasm. Depletion of glutathione increases the susceptibility of neurones to oxidative stress and hyperalgesia 43, 44.

Symptoms

Not only mGluRs but ionotropic glutamate (NMDA) receptors are also involved in alcoholic-induced neuropathic pain. Evaluation includes identifying laboratory abnormalities supporting alcohol abuse when the history alcohol neuropathy stages is not otherwise clear; these findings may include abnormal liver function tests and red cell macrocytosis. Thiamine levels are not consistently reduced, but the thiamine-mediated enzyme transketolase is measured in some laboratories. Electrodiagnostic testing shows typical evidence of an axonal sensorimotor neuropathy.