OBJECTIVES This work consists in a study of the links between alcohol, a psychoactive substance and different related epileptic manifestations in order to clarify predominant factors both on conceptual, clinical and therapeutic levels. BACKGROUND If alcohol is a frequent risk factor for seizures, its scientific evidence is less clear and ad hoc literature is rich in controversies and not firm...

Benzodiazepines ameliorate or prevent the symptoms and complications of moderate to severe alcohol withdrawal, which can include autonomic hyperactivity, agitation, combativeness, hallucinations, seizures, delirium, and death. The benzodiazepines most commonly used for this purpose are lorazepam, chlordiazepoxide, oxazepam, and diazepam. It is widely asserted that no member of this group is sup...

INTRODUCTION Alcohol biomarkers help in the early detection of alcoholism and its complications. There is a paucity of studies in India on the salivary markers of systemic diseases in general and on salivary alcohol biomarkers in particular. OBJECTIVES The present study was aimed at assessing the effect of alcohol withdrawal on the antioxidants and amylase in blood and saliva, and at finding ...

Preclinical and clinical studies show associations between testosterone and brain-derived neurotrophic growth factor (BDNF) serum levels. BDNF and testosterone have been independently reported to influence alcohol consumption. Therefore, we aimed to investigate a possible interplay of testosterone and BDNF contributing to alcohol dependence. Regarding possible interplay of testosterone and BDNF...

Department of psychiatry and behavior sciences Eastern Virginia Medical School Norfolk Hospitalized patients who are not truthful about their alcohol consumption may be at risk for an unplanned withdrawal. Self-reports of alcohol use—such as CAGE and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identifi cation Test (AUDIT)—are valid, inexpensive, and noninvasive, but patients easily can feign results.1 Biochemica...

In 42 alcoholic inpatients we performed an open randomized study to compare the effects of diazepam and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) on the suppression of severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome and hypercortisolism. Both diazepam (.5 mg/kg bodyweight, q.i.d.) and GHB (50 mg/kg bodyweight, q.i.d.) were orally administered for three weeks. During all study period, GHB was more able than diazepam in re...

Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive disease that devastates the patient and family. The chronic abuse of alcohol results in a multitude of pathological changes, particularly in the central nervous system. The toxic effects of acetaldehyde, a metabolic by-product of alcohol, and alcoholic beverage congeners have been associated with pathological changes in the central nervous system. Toxic effe...

AIMS The study aimed at comparing the fixed tapering dose and the symptom-triggered regimens of lorazepam for alcohol detoxification. METHODS We carried out a prospective, randomized, double blind controlled trial involving 63 consecutive consenting male patients admitted with diagnosis of uncomplicated alcohol withdrawal. The patients were randomized into two groups based on the type of lora...

BACKGROUND Alcohol withdrawal delirium (AWD) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Pellagra (niacin deficiency) can be a cause of delirium during alcohol withdrawal that may often be overlooked. OBJECTIVES We present a three-patient case series of pellagrous encephalopathy (delirium due to pellagra) presenting as AWD. METHODS We provide a brief review of pellagra's history...

IMPORTANCE Research focusing on plasticity has shown adult neurogenesis in hippocampal subfields. Chronic alcoholism is associated with decreased plasticity and reduced whole hippocampal volume that could contribute to neuropsychiatric characteristics and outcome of the disease. OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of alcohol abstinence on neuronal plasticity measured as longitudinal volume ch...