Alcoholic neuropathy: possible mechanisms and future treatment possibilities

Some people experience a faster onset and progression of alcoholic neuropathy than others. It’s not completely clear why some people are more prone to this complication than others. If the sensation is decreased enough, you may feel actual numbness after drinking alcohol.

Alcohol-Related Neurologic Disease

• The medical community has recognized that addiction is a disease and some people are predisposed to it.
• Excessive, long-term consumption of alcohol can lead to malnutrition as well as nerve damage, and both contribute to the development of alcoholic neuropathy.
• Alcoholic neuropathy is a type of peripheral neuropathy, which means it affects the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord.
• These relationships make chronic alcoholism a risk factor for thiamine deficiency.

You’ll likely also be asked to participate in physical therapy to help regain and maintain your strength. Ultimately, the best way to prevent alcohol-related neurologic disease is to not drink alcohol. Doctors or family and friends can provide early intervention, which can help you avoid alcohol-related neurologic disease. In a 2019 study, researchers showed that quitting alcohol had a positive effect on most people’s mental well-being.

ALN and Gender

SSRIs have been studied in a few trials which have demonstrated a weak analgesic effect but the clinical relevance of these compounds is questionable [119]. N-acetylcysteine, an amino acid, is a potent antioxidant and helps to enhance glutathione concentrations. N-acetylcysteine may have application in the prevention or treatment of neuropathy. Rats with experimentally-induced diabetes for 2 months had a 20% reduction in nerve conduction velocity and 48% reduction in endoneurial blood flow.

• These functions are achieved by PKC mediated phosphorylation of other proteins [16].
• Four studies addressed the management of patients with alcohol-related peripheral neuropathy.
• You may need to be sedated for more than a week until the alcohol withdrawal symptoms go away.
• 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.
• Painful sensations with or without burning quality represent the initial and major symptom of alcoholic neuropathy [2, 4].
• Vitamin E is used to refer to a group of fat-soluble compounds that include both tocopherols and tocotrienols.
• Anti-seizure medications are sometimes prescribed as a way to manage pain.

Alcoholic Neuropathy Symptoms

People affected by alcoholic neuropathy may feel burning and tingling sensations in their feet, which may persist or may last from a few months to a few years. People with alcoholic neuropathy who stop drinking may alleviate their current symptoms and prevent further nerve deterioration. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ Damage to nerves caused by alcoholic neuropathy, however, is usually permanent. According to a 2017 review, muscle myopathy is common in alcohol use disorder. In addition, about 40 to 60 percent of people who experience chronic alcohol misuse also experience alcohol-related myopathy.

• The results showed that activation and functional connectivity of the BNST network are altered during early abstinence and that anxiety severity and sex play a role in these alterations.
• Another prominent effect of alcoholic neuropathy involves painful and uncomfortable sensations.
• Patients are encouraged to help develop their individual treatment plans, which include therapy, education, and relapse prevention.
• Alcoholic polyneuropathy is a neurological disorder in which peripheral nerves throughout the body malfunction simultaneously.

Benfotiamine for the treatment of alcohol related peripheral neuropathy

But these studies were often limited in scope and most included data from a relatively small number of people. Functional connectivity in the BNST-ventromedial prefrontal cortex was weaker in women in early abstinence during unpredictable threat cues and stronger in men during unpredictable neutral cues. People in the healthy group who had higher anxiety scores showed weaker connectivity alcohol neuropathy stages in these regions during unpredictable cues than people in the early abstinent group. Join 40,000+ People Who Receive Our Newsletter Get valuable resources on addiction, recovery, wellness, and our treatments delivered directly to your inbox. If you are experiencing weakness, reduced muscle function, or control, you may be given orthopedic appliances to improve your stability.

Alcoholic Neuropathy: Understanding the Link Between Alcohol and Nerve Damage

• Drinking alcohol can also have negative effects on the peripheral nervous system (PNS).
• Thus, alpha-lipoic acid may have a potential in the treatment of patients with alcoholic neuropathy.
• The patient should be examined for additional manifestations of chronic alcohol abuse such as caput medusae, ascites, digital clubbing, Dupuytren contractures, palmar erythema, gynecomastia, and jaundice.
• Alcohol can damage nerves directly, or it can render the body incapable of properly utilizing nutrients such as niacin and vitamin B12, which help regulate nerve function.
• But if you have developed neuropathy as a result of alcohol use, it’s important to stop drinking as soon as possible.

If you have a diagnosis of alcoholic neuropathy, abstinence from alcohol is the primary treatment to restore nerve function. Drinking alcohol with any neuropathy could cause further damage to nerves. Talk with your doctor before consuming alcohol if you have any diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy. Thiamine, folate, niacin, vitamins B6 and B12, and vitamin E are all needed for proper nerve function.

The true incidence of alcoholic neuropathy in the general population is unknown, and figures vary widely depending on the definition of chronic alcoholism and the criteria used to detect and classify neuropathy. As yet there is no effective therapeutic intervention available for relieving the neuropathic pain due to chronic alcohol consumption. Izumi et al. [73] also demonstrated that a single day of ethanol exposure in rats on post natal day 7 results in significant apoptotic neuronal damage throughout the forebrain after 24 h of ethanol administration. Thus, it is quite possible that chronic alcohol consumption is responsible for inducing neuropathy by activation of the caspase cascade and may be an important target for the treatment of alcoholic neuropathy. Spinal cord glial cells are implicated in the exaggerated pain state created by diverse manipulations such as subcutaneous inflammation, neuropathy and spinal immune activation [65, 66].

A connection between MEK/ERK signaling and alcoholic neuropathy

Keep in mind, not everyone who abuses alcohol will develop alcoholic neuropathy, as susceptibility can differ among individuals. Accumulating evidence suggests a pivotal role for metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in nociceptive processing, inflammatory pain and hyperalgesia [74, 75]. Several mGluR subtypes have been identified in the superficial dorsal horn of the spinal cord [76, 77] and on primary afferent fibres [78]. Glutamate concentrations are elevated in the superficial dorsal horn of rats after chronic ligature of the sciatic nerve [79]. Miyoshi et al. found that 5 weeks after ethanol treatment, the mechanical nociceptive threshold was significantly decreased and is further reduced up to 10 weeks [80]. As supported by immunostaining, the membrane fraction showed that spinal mGluR5 concentrations in ethanol-treated rats were significantly increased compared with those in the control diet group.

Your healthcare team will also take strides to reduce the risk of injury. In many cases, chronic drinkers are unable to store and use various vitamins and minerals, so a blood test may be used to see if you’re deficient in certain areas. Completely avoiding alcohol and eating a balanced diet can help minimize damage. Your chances for recovery depend on how early the disease is diagnosed and how much damage has already occurred. Avoiding alcohol is the best way to treat these conditions and relieve symptoms. Keep reading to learn about the different types of alcohol-related neurologic disease and its signs and symptoms.