Neurological manifestations of chronic alcoholism
PDF (Español)
XML (Español)

Keywords

Alcohol
Risky consumption
Neurological complications
Wernicke-Korsakoff encephalopathy
Alcohol withdrawal
Marchiafava-Bignami disease
Cerebellar ataxia

Abstract

Introduction: Ethyl alcohol is one of the most widely consumed substances throughout the world. It is a public health problem due to its high morbidity and mortality as well as its economic impact.

Content: Chronic alcohol consumption induces changes in the structure and function of the central and peripheral nervous system; these neurological effects affect up to 50% of consumers, resulting in multiple neurological complications that may become irreversible. The mechanisms of neurological damage are variable, within the chronic complications are Wernicke-Korsakoff encephalopathy, hepatic encephalopathy, cerebellar ataxia, alcoholic neuropathy, chronic alcoholic myopathy, and severe withdrawal syndrome.

Conclusions: Chronic alcohol consumption can cause various neurological complications, early diagnosis of these and timely intervention of alcohol use disorder, proves to be important and is one of the most cost-effectives measures to avoid secondary irreversible neurological complications.

https://doi.org/10.22379/anc.v41i2.1883

PDF (Español)
XML (Español)

References

World Health Organization. Global status report on alcohol and health and treatment of substance use disorders. WHO; 2024. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240096745

Lizasoain Hernández I, Leza JC, Ladero JM, Lorenzo Fernández P. Drogodependencias. 3.ª ed. Panamericana; 2009.

American Psychiatric Association. DSM-5 TM guidebook the essential companion to the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition. 5.a ed. Washington, D. C.: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.

Cohen SM, Alexander RS, Holt SR. The Spectrum of Alcohol Use: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Med Clin North Am. 2022 Jan;106(1):43-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2021.08.003

Molina PE, Nelson S. Binge drinking's effects on the body. Alcohol Res. 2018;39(1):99-109.

US Preventive Services Task Force; Curry SJ, Krist AH, Owens DK, Barry MJ, Caughey AB, et al. Screening and behavioral counseling interventions to reduce unhealthy alcohol use in adolescents and adults: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA. 2018;320(18):1899-909. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.10897

Planas-Ballvé A, Grau-López L, Morillas RM, Planas R. Neurological manifestations of excessive alcohol consumption. Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017;40(10):709-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gastrohep.2017.05.011

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse, and Alcoholism. Special Report to the US Congress on Alcohol & Health. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; 2000.

Nutt D, Hayes A, Fonville L, Zafar R, Palmer EOC, Paterson L, et al. Alcohol and the brain. Nutrients. 2021;13(11):3938. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13113938

Nelson LS, Howland MA, Lewin NA, Smith SW, Goldfrank LR, Hoffman RS. Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies, 11.a ed. McGraw-Hill.Education; 2019.

Hammoud N, Jimenez-Shahed J. Chronic neurologic effects of alcohol. Clin Liver Dis. 2019;23(1):141-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cld.2018.09.010

Oudman E, Wijnia JW, Oey MJ, van Dam M, Postma A. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome despite no alcohol abuse: a summary of systematic reports. J Neurol Sci. 2021;426:117482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jns.2021.117482

Wijnia JW. A clinician's view of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. J Clin Med. 2022;11(22):6755. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11226755

Knight-Dunn L, Gorchynski J. Alcohol-related metabolic emergencies. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2023;41(4):809-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emc.2023.07.003

Rose CF, Amodio P, Bajaj JS, Dhiman RK, Montagnese S, Taylor-Robinson SD, et al. Hepatic encephalopathy: novel insights into classification, pathophysiology and therapy. J Hepatol. 2020;73(6):1526-47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2020.07.013

Elsaid MI, Rustgi VK. Epidemiology of hepatic encephalopathy. Clin Liver Dis. 2020;24(2):157-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cld.2020.01.001

Vannier AGL, Shay JES, Fomin V, Patel SJ, Schaefer E, Goodman RP, et al. Incidence and progression of alcohol-associated liver disease after medical therapy for alcohol use disorder. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(5):e2213014. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.13014

Singal AK, Mathurin P. Diagnosis and treatment of alcohol-associated liver disease: a review. JAMA. 2021;326(2):165-76. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.7683

Goldman L, Cooney KA. Goldman-Cecil Medicine 2- Volume Set. Elsevier; 2023. Alcoholic and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis; p. 1031-1034.e1.

Harris KB, González HC, Gordon SC. The health care burden of hepatic encephalopathy. Clin Liver Dis. 2024;28(2):265-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cld.2024.01.009

Butterworth RF. Hepatic encephalopathy in alcoholic cirrhosis. Handb Clin Neurol. 2014;125:589-602. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-444-62619-6.00034-3

Harper C. The neuropathology of alcohol-related brain damage. Alcohol bran. 2009;44(2):136-40. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agn102

Mitoma H, Manto M, Shaikh AG. Mechanisms of ethanol-induced cerebellar ataxia: underpinnings of neuronal death in the cerebellum. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(16):8678. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168678

Salazar G, Fragoso M, Español G, Cuadra L. Primary degeneration of the corpus callosum (Marchiafava-Bignami disease): 2 unusual clinical presentations. Neurologia. 2013;28(9):587-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nrl.2012.04.018

Hillbom M, Saloheimo P, Fujioka S, Wszolek ZK, Juvela S, Leone MA. Diagnosis and management of Marchiafava-Bignami disease: a review of CT/MRI confirmed cases. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2014;85(2):168-73. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2013-305979

Waack A, Nandwani S, Ranabothu M, Ranabothu A, Vattipally V. Marchiafava-Bignami disease: case presentation and radiological imaging. Radiol Case Rep. 2023;18(11):3922-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radcr.2023.08.032

Wirth T, Föckens E, De Cagny H, Lafforgue P, Guis S. Afecciones tóxicas y endocrinas musculares. EMC-Aparato Locomotor. 2022;55(4):1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1286-935X(22)47188-7

Pasnoor M, Barohn RJ, Dimachkie MM. Toxic myopathies. Neurol Clin. 2014;32(3):647-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ncl.2014.04.009

Simon L, Jolley SE, Molina PE. Alcoholic myopathy: pathophysiologic mechanisms and clinical implications. Alcohol Res. 2017;38(2):207-17.

Koike H, Sobue G. Alcoholic neuropathy. Curr Opin Neurol. 2006;19(5):481-6. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.wco.0000245371.89941.eb

Julian T, Glascow N, Syeed R, Zis P. Alcohol-related peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Neurol. 2019;266(12):2907-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-018-9123-1

Nath P, Anand AC. Extrahepatic manifestations in alcoholic liver disease. J Clin Exp Hepatol. 2022;12(5):1371-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jceh.2022.02.004

Mirijello A, D’Angelo C, Ferrulli A, Vassallo G, Antonelli M, Caputo F, et al. Identification and management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Drugs. 2015;75(4):353-65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-015-0358-1

Sabzali M, Eidi A, Khaksari M, Khastar H. Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiapoptotic action of metformin attenuates ethanol neurotoxicity in the animal model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Neurotox Res 2022. 40(2):605-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12640-022-00499-2

Popova S, Charness ME, Burd L, Crawford A, Hoyme HE, Mukherjee RAS, et al. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2023;9(1):11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-023-00420-x

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.