Alcohol-related peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis Journal of Neurology

Your doctor will have to do their best work to save the nerves you do have left. In the last stage of neuropathy, the severity of neuropathy is so high that you may not feel like you have feet alcohol neuropathy stages at all, and your quality of life has been impacted for the rest of your life. And if it is diabetes, you’re probably already experiencing things like a loss of eyesight or kidney damage.

By scanning the reference lists of included studies, an additional 4 papers were identified. Early diagnosis and treatment make it more likely that you will be able https://ecosoberhouse.com/ to recover. She has over a decade of direct patient care experience working as a registered nurse specializing in neurotrauma, stroke, and the emergency room.

Animal Studies

Progression of the disease leads to symmetrical ascending motor and sensory deficits. Thiamine serves as an important coenzyme in carbohydrate metabolism and neuron development. The lack of thiamine in the nervous system affects the cellular structure and can cause cell membrane damage and irregular ectopic cells.

Lettsom has observed that paralysis and hypoesthesia related to ALN presented a higher prevalence rate in lower limbs compared to upper limbs [60]. When alcohol is responsible for damage to the peripheral nerves, a person has alcoholic neuropathy. People who drink heavily on a regular basis are at risk of developing this condition.

Diagnosis of Alcohol-Related Peripheral Neuropathy

This article presents the pathophysiology, signs and symptoms, diagnostic approaches, treatment options, and nursing care of patients with alcohol-induced PN. Thirteen studies provided data from the biopsy of the sural nerve or the skin in patients with alcohol-related peripheral neuropathy. Alcohol-related peripheral neuropathy appears to be characterised by severe loss of myelinated fibres; and although profound small fibre loss can also be present, this appears to occur more variably [3, 51, 53, 59, 85].

  • There is presently sparse data to support a particular management strategy in alcohol-related peripheral neuropathy, but the limited data available appears to support the use of vitamin supplementation, particularly of B-vitamin regimens inclusive of thiamine.
  • Intensive research has been done on medications like alpha-lipoic acid, benfotiamine, acetyl-l-carnitine, and methylcobalamin.
  • Alcohol-induced PN can be incapacitating and debilitating, and the patient must also cope with the impact that chronic heavy alcohol consumption has on physical and mental health and personal, social, and professional relationships.