What Patients Need To Know About Alcohol-related Neurologic Disease

By Author: Suneel Gupta
Total Articles: 1
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Alcoholism is a global disorder. Not only Alcohol impairs the thought process, but long-term misuse can jeopardize the nerve-muscle systems of the body as well.

Alcohol-related neurologic disease is not a single disease but a combination of multiple symptoms. It includes: On-off Blackouts

Headache
Loss of memory
Disbalance (loss of coordination)
Dehydration
Seizures, coma and, in severe cases even death

Long-term abuse of alcohol can not only damage the nervous system but also the heart, liver, kidneys, muscles and several other systems of the body

Due to long-term abuse of alcohol the body gets nutritionally depleted. There are certain nutrients whose depletion becomes prominent i.e. Vitamin B1, B6, B9 and B12. These are the vitamins who regulate normal nerve functions. Along with these, a poor diet worsens the entire scenario. Over a period, alcohol-related neurologic disease set in.

Some of the important alcohol-related neurologic diseases are:

Wernicke-Korsakoff Disease – It’s mainly seen due ...
... to the deficiency of Thiamine (Vitamin B1). There’re two types of this:

Wernicke’s encephalopathy- severe, short-term, involving paralysis of nerves controlling eye muscles, metal confusion often requiring emergency hospitalization and prolonged ICU stay
Korsakoff psychosis- long-term including forgetfulness, difficulty in coordination, confusion, problems with learning, etc.

Alcoholic Neuromyopathy – When the peripheral nerves and muscles of the body get damaged due to alcohol toxicity, this disorder sets in. It’s a type of permanent neurological damage including numbness, tingling, muscle cramps, twitching, speech impairment, nausea-vomiting, muscle weakness, difficulty swallowing, bowel-bladder incontinence and several others.

Alcohol Withdrawal syndrome- This is one of the most severe disorders of them all. There can be anxiety, depression, severe mood swings, insomnia, tremors/shaking of body parts (mainly limbs), etc. In serious forms, it’s also called Delirium Tremens including hallucinations, high fever, seizures, mental confusion, etc.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome- If the pregnant woman consumes alcohol, the baby is always at danger of developing brain damage, developmental and behavioural issues (at any point in the childhood). No amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy. In case of any further queries, you should always Ask A Doctor.

At HealthCareMagic, we’ve dedicated 24x7 service of Addiction Medicine Specialists as well as Neurologists and Gastroenterologists. So, in case of any further queries feel free to contact Ask A Doctor for any kind of Medical assistance.

HealthCareMagic provides medical consultation services where you can ask a doctor about your health concern & get instant advice on web & mobile apps.