Nerves don’t have a resilient ability to regenerate if they are severely damaged. So, the nerve damage of alcoholic neuropathy is generally permanent and likely to worsen if the person does not stop drinking. Good physical health is important to confidence and resilience, both of which are vital factors in preventing relapse and further health problems. The basic components are diet, sleep, exercise, and time for relaxation and self-pampering. Since your ability to engage in some of these may be affected by neuropathy and/or alcoholism, schedule an appointment with a doctor or therapist to create a detailed, individualized health plan.
Getting help for alcohol use disorder
Treatment of ALN aims to reduce further damage to the peripheral nerves and restore their normal functioning. What is crucial during ALN treatment is the alleviation of the major causation of ALN which is alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse treatment might lead to a resolution of neuropathic pain and alleviation of its symptoms. This can be achieved by complete alcohol abstinence and a balanced diet primarily supplemented by B6, B12, and E vitamins, as well as folate, thiamine, and niacin. Benzodiazepines are commonly used to reduce the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome; acamprosate and naltrexone are effective to treat alcohol dependence; however, the latter usually induces withdrawal symptoms [175].
- People who drink heavily on a regular basis and have one or more of the following symptoms should contact a doctor.
- Patients who have ALN might present such symptoms as cramps, impaired movement of the limbs, muscle atrophy, muscle weakness, spasms, or contractions, loss of sensation, or feeling of tingling.
- However, recognizing the symptoms and seeking medical attention early may minimize the impact of the condition.
- In an animal model, Kaur et al. (2017) showed that curcumin and sildenafil administrated alone or in combination represent a therapeutic advantage in alcohol-induced neuropathic pain [176].
Alcoholic Neuropathy: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments
The goal of treatment is to impede further damage to the peripheral nerves while also restoring their normal physiology. Alcoholic polyneuropathy is a neurological disorder in which peripheral nerves throughout the body malfunction simultaneously. It is defined by axonal degeneration in neurons of both the sensory and motor systems and initially occurs at the distal ends of the longest axons in the body. This nerve damage causes an individual to experience pain and motor weakness, first in the feet and hands and then progressing centrally. Alcoholic polyneuropathy is caused primarily by chronic alcoholism; however, vitamin deficiencies are also known to contribute to its development.
Topical Collection on The Pathobiology of Alcohol Consumption
There is damage to the nerves due to the direct toxic effect of alcohol and the malnutrition induced by it. Patients present with pain, ataxia, and paresthesias in the lower extremities. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ This activity describes the evaluation and management of alcoholic neuropathy and reviews the role of the interprofessional team in improving care for patients with this condition.
Drinking too much can alter levels of these nutrients and affect the spread of alcoholic neuropathy. Fortunately, abstaining from alcohol can help restore your nutritional alcohol neuropathy stages health. If you’re suffering from ALN, it means your peripheral nerves have been damaged, which can lead to dysfunction in sensory, motor, and autonomic processes.
The study further found that an individual’s sex and severity of their anxiety play a significant role in the brain’s response during early abstinence from alcohol use, with the brains of men and women responding differently. These findings highlight the need for a greater understanding of the neural mechanisms affected by alcohol use and abstinence to better support people trying to quit drinking. By adopting a proactive and holistic approach that combines responsible drinking, healthy lifestyle choices, early intervention, and regular medical monitoring, individuals can significantly reduce the risk of alcohol neuropathy. Prevention efforts safeguard nerve health and contribute to overall physical and mental well-being.
- Alcoholic neuropathy can be categorized into different stages based on the progression and severity of nerve damage.
- Once a person stops using alcohol, they can often experience recovery from symptoms, though in some cases, some damage may be permanent.
- This condition is typically not life-threatening, but the nerve damage from alcoholic neuropathy is usually permanent.
- A doctor will take a thorough health history and have you complete questionnaires related to alcohol intake to help diagnose these conditions.
- 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.
Further, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors are prescribed to treat alcohol-induced neuropathic pain via exerting antinociceptive properties by increasing serotonergic and noradrenergic neurotransmissions [71]. In an animal model, Kaur et al. (2017) showed that curcumin and sildenafil administrated alone or in combination represent a therapeutic advantage in alcohol-induced neuropathic pain [176]. Chronic alcohol consumption leads to malnutrition with dysfunctions in protein and lipid metabolism which affect the metabolic pathways and progression of ALN symptoms within the central and peripheral nervous systems [89]. The direct toxic effects of alcohol and its metabolites (mainly acetaldehyde) are crucial in ALN etiology [64]. It has been demonstrated that incubation of neural cells with advanced glycation end products of acetaldehyde (AA-AGE) induced dose-dependent degradation of neuronal cells while the addition of AA-AGE antibodies reduced neurotoxicity [51, 90]. Other findings showed that decreased activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase leads to peripheral neuropathy [76, 91].
- Active denervation (presence of positive waves and fibrillations) was also present in the majority of patients.
- Some tests can be performed by a doctor to rule out other causes of neurologic symptoms.
- It also impacts the myelin, which is the fatty coating that protects the nerves.
- Malnutrition due to alcoholism can contribute to nerve damage and alcoholic polyneuropathy as well.
- A common adverse effect of chronic alcohol consumption is alcohol neuropathy.
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. People with a lengthy history of alcohol misuse might experience loss of balance, pain, tingling, weakness, or numbness after drinking alcohol.
Methylcobalamin for the treatment of peripheral neuropathy
The authors point out that this could be an anomaly due to the wine drinkers consuming more ethanol than other alcohol abusers but offer an alternative explanation that wine may contain more toxic impurities than other beverages. Due to the breadth of the literature surrounding this topic, this review shall focus exclusively upon peripheral neuropathy, without discussing autonomic neuropathy. In addition, a support group can help you cope with the life changes you’re experiencing as a result of your condition.
The pain is described as burning, cramp-like, or itching; also, a common symptom is a subjective feeling of cold in both feet [118,119,120,121,122,123]. The symptoms deteriorate through touch and pressure which intensify pain while standing or walking [124]. Further progression of ALN leads to the weakening of tendon reflexes or total areflexia and disturbed proprioception, which additionally impair the ability to walk [28, 113]. ALN further manifests as weakness and atrophy of muscles due to the damage of greater motor fibers and impaired neuromuscular transmission.
