Alcoholic Neuropathy: Causes, Symptoms, & Treatments
Content
Females, generally tend to drink less alcohol, are better abstainers, and present the smaller probability of the development of alcohol-related diseases 127, 128. However, compared to males, the symptoms of excessive alcohol consumption manifest earlier in females 129, 130. Alcohol-related liver cirrhosis may occur even a few years earlier in females compared to males 131. The prevalence of alcoholic cardiomyopathy appears to be similar among males and females; however, males present a higher disease burden 132, 133. Furthermore, females tend to be more vulnerable to the brain damage and neurotoxic effects of alcohol 134.
Ronald Lissak Named President of the Foundation for Peripheral…
- 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.
- Thus, deficiency of these vitamins was felt to be unlikely in Danish beer drinkers at that time and, indeed, measured vitamin concentrations were mostly normal.
- Excessive, long-term consumption of alcohol can lead to malnutrition as well as nerve damage, and both contribute to the development of alcoholic neuropathy.
- A healthcare professional can offer support for people with alcohol use disorder.
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. Treatment for alcoholism may include counseling, social support such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), or medicines. People who struggle with alcoholism should try to eat a healthy and balanced diet, even if they don’t feel hungry. By Heidi Moawad, MDHeidi Moawad is a neurologist and expert in the field of brain health and neurological disorders. Dr. Moawad regularly writes and edits health and career content for medical books and publications.
Alcoholic neuropathy is progressive damage to peripheral nerves and, in extreme cases, the autonomic nervous system, through chronic, heavy alcohol use. In addition, a support group can help you cope with the life changes you’re experiencing as a result of your condition. You might look for a support group specifically for alcoholic neuropathy or for people coping with chronic pain. You may also benefit from a support group to help you reduce your drinking or completely quit drinking alcohol.
Topical Collection on The Pathobiology of Alcohol Consumption
Long-term heavy alcohol use can result in a disorder called alcohol-related neuropathy. Alcohol’s harmful effects can harm your peripheral nerves, which are involved in movement and feeling. If you struggle to quit drinking or have signs of alcohol-related neuropathy, consult a healthcare provider. In addition to controlling and treating nerve damage, rehabilitation for individuals with alcoholic neuropathy includes physical therapy, nutritional counseling, and techniques to stop additional nerve damage. To try to address the long-term consequences of alcohol on the liver, this treatment is also necessary. A doctor may diagnose a person with alcoholic neuropathy, if alcohol use has damaged the peripheral nerves.
Alcoholic neuropathy: possible mechanisms and future treatment possibilities
Early diagnosis and treatment, including alcohol cessation, nutritional support, and symptom management, can help prevent further nerve damage and improve quality of life. 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.
Living with Alcoholic Neuropathy
Some of your bodily functions are autonomic, which means that you don’t directly control them. Nerves that are part of the autonomic nervous system help to regulate heart rate, body temperature, respiration, and blood pressure. Polyneuropathy involves damage to more than one nerve at the same time, usually multiple nerves throughout the peripheral nervous system and all over the body. A person’s risk of the neurotoxic effects of alcohol, the quantity and duration of alcohol usage, and nutritional inadequacies are risk factors for developing alcoholic neuropathy. Alcoholics, or those who drink a lot of alcohol over a long period, are more susceptible, particularly if they don’t eat enough of the essential nutrients for nerve function and repair. Long-term heavy alcohol use, particularly when accompanied Substance abuse by nutritional deficiencies, can damage the body’s nerves, leading to a host of painful and debilitating symptoms.
These findings constitute direct evidence that spinal PKC plays a substantial role in the development and maintenance of an ethanol-dependent neuropathic pain-like state in rats. Drinking a lot of alcohol over a long period of time causes nerve damage that can lead to the onset of alcoholic neuropathy. Someone who struggles with alcoholism may replace meals with alcohol, take in a lot of empty calories, and not maintain a healthy and balanced diet. Alcohol can also deplete the body of essential nutrients, and thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency is common in people who battle alcoholism.
Progression of the disease leads to symmetrical ascending motor and sensory deficits. The prevalence of impairments in ANS in alcohol-dependent patients varies from 20 to 99% 160. Symptoms of AAN are due to impairments in both sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic fibers of the cardiovascular, digestive, and urogenital systems.
What physical characteristics distinguish alcoholic neuropathy?
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. Other findings showed that decreased activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase leads to peripheral neuropathy 76, 91.
- Usually, when sensory function becomes impaired above the ankle, they will also spread into the hands, a distribution known as the stocking-and-glove pattern.5 Symptoms also often develop symmetrically.
- They will be prescribed the smallest dose of medicine needed to reduce symptoms.
- Severe alcoholic neuropathy can induce motor weakness because it destroys nerves.
- Injection of (S)-2,6-diamino-N-1-(oxotridecyl)-2-piperidinylmethyl hexanamide dihydrochloride (NPC15437), a selective PKC inhibitor, once a day for a week after 4 weeks of ethanol treatment.
- We recently launched our in-app chatbot, Melody, powered by the world’s most powerful AI technology.
A program that caters to co-occurring disorders ensures that the alcoholism is being treated and so are any other medical or mental health issues. Medical, mental health, and substance abuse providers all work together to form and carry out a treatment plan that helps to manage all disorders at the same time. Peripheral neuropathy refers to damage or disease of the nerves that carry messages to and from the brain or spinal column and the rest of the body. More recent research, however, suggests that alcohol can directly damage nerves. The evidence points toward alcohol-related peripheral neuropathy being a form of toxic neuropathy, rather than nutritional neuropathy.
Acetaldehyde
Alcoholic neuropathy requires a comprehensive treatment approach focused on both halting the condition’s progression and alleviating its symptoms. This dual strategy is essential to manage the condition effectively and improve our quality of life. An earlier analysis from 2017 suggested that taking B vitamin supplements may help with nerve regeneration. This could be a result of B vitamins’ ability to enhance nerve function and hasten the regeneration of nerve tissue. Muscle weakness and cramping, male erection dysfunction, urination dysfunction, constipation, and diarrhea are examples of motor symptoms.
Causes of alcoholic neuropathy
According to studies, it is estimated that as many as 66% of individuals with chronic alcohol abuse may suffer from alcoholic polyneuropathy. Alcoholic neuropathy is a condition in which the nerves become damaged as a result of years of heavy alcohol consumption. Symptoms include burning pain in the body, hyperalgesia (increased sensitivity to pain), and allodynia (a condition in which normal stimulus, like a soft touch, produces pain).