The most common alcohol-related chronic condition for hospitalisation is alcohol dependence which can lead to an alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). The aim of this paper is to report on a quality improvement program in an Australian rural area health service for the screening and management of alcohol withdrawal and the effect of two types of nursing education and training approaches: a self-di...

AIMS The aim of this work was to report on a heavy drinker whose azoospermia was reversed after alcohol withdrawal. We also review the literature on links between alcohol consumption and azoospermia. METHOD This study is a clinical case report and a literature review. RESULTS Two years after alcohol withdrawal, a child was born following assisted reproduction technique. Excessive alcohol co...

Several cases of alcohol-induced bladder dysfunction have been reported previously, but the mechanism of its development is varied and unclear. We report a case of symptomatic abdominal distension due to urinary retention after alcohol withdrawal. The timing of the onset suggests that it was induced by alcohol withdrawal.

The treatment of alcoholism requires the proper management of ethanol withdrawal symptoms, such as anxiety, to prevent further alcohol use and abuse. In this study, we investigated the potential role of brain chromatin remodeling, caused by histone modifications, in alcoholism. We found that the anxiolytic effects produced by acute alcohol were associated with a decrease in histone deacetylase ...

AIMS The present study examined the effects of protracted alcohol withdrawal on affectivity, craving, selective attention and executive functions (EFs) in alcohol-dependent patients. METHODS Selective attention (The D2 Cancellation Test), flexibility (Trail Making Test), inhibition (Stroop Task), decision making (Iowa Gambling Task), craving (Obsessive-Compulsive Drinking Scale) and state aff...

AIMS The purpose of the present study is to determine whether the inverse genetic association between alcohol withdrawal magnitude and genetic propensity for alcohol drinking that we have previously identified in alcohol-naive rats given alcohol acutely, would also be seen following chronic alcohol exposure. The effect of forced, chronic alcohol treatment on subsequent voluntary alcohol drinkin...

Risk for onset of alcoholism is related to genetic differences in acute alcohol withdrawal liability. We previously mapped a locus responsible for 26% of the genetic variance in acute alcohol withdrawal convulsion liability to a >35 centimorgan (cM) interval of murine chromosome 4. Here, we narrow the position of this locus to a <1 cM interval (approximately 1.8 megabase, containing 15 genes an...

AIMS To compare two inpatient symptom-triggered pharmacological treatments of acute alcohol withdrawal (AWS) (clomethiazole vs. clonazepam). METHODS Prospective observational comparison within a quality improvement project. Because of a need for extra precautions against complications such as seizures and severe respiratory complaints, patients with a history of withdrawal seizures or complic...

Stress (Takotsubo) cardiomyopathy is a form of reversible left ventricular dysfunction with a heightened risk of ventricular arrhythmia thought to be caused by high circulating catecholamines. We report a case of stress cardiomyopathy that developed during severe alcohol withdrawal successfully treated with dexmedetomidine. The case involves a 53-year-old man with a significant history of alcoh...