Alcohol Use and Alcohol-Related Seizures in Patients With Epilepsy

This article looks at the connection between alcohol, seizures, and epilepsy, as well as treatment options and support. The AUDIT, though used in the study, is an instrument meant to detect harmful or hazardous use (at cut-off score of 8) only. The scores over 20 on AUDIT may indicate possible dependence,3 but it is to be noted that AUDIT was also not employed as a screening tool, rather as an instrument for assessment. Further, it appears from the AUDIT score of sample 21.9 ± 4.86; Table 1 that at least a proportion of the patients scored below 20, and comprised of hazardous but non-dependent users. Your provider may recommend specific services based on your seizure history. For example, if you have experienced seizures, you may need to participate in inpatient detox supervised by medical professionals rather than detoxing in an outpatient setting.

Alcohol and some antiseizure medications can have similar side effects, and taking them together can cause potentially dangerous complications. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, seizures by themselves typically are not fatal. However, they may cause people to fall and sustain potentially serious injuries, such as head injuries. A person with epilepsy should speak with their doctor to determine how much alcohol, if any, is safe to consume with their condition. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. If you aren’t sure how to help the person having a seizure, call 911 and follow the operator’s instructions.

Alcohol-related seizures

Someone with delirium tremens may have hallucinations, psychosis, heartbeat changes and high body temperature. Seizures often occur during delirium tremens but are not always a symptom of this condition. Withdrawal seizures also happen independently of delirium tremens, and having seizures during withdrawal doesn’t necessarily mean that delirium tremens is present. Alcohol withdrawal seizures (delirium tremens) occur when the body undergoes severe and unexpected nervous system changes after an alcohol-dependent person stops drinking. With alcohol use disorder (AUD), GABA responses just alcohol related seizure never return to normal. The brain is always slightly sedated, and the body is always trying to return to normal.

How Do Alcohol-Related Seizures Affect People With Epilepsy?

100 consecutive male patients presenting to a tertiary care center in South India with new onset ARS were analyzed with alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) score. All underwent 19 channel digital scalp electroencephalography (EEG) and at least computed tomography (CT) scan. Many medications can help prevent seizures; however, these are only used in those with epilepsy or who are likely to have seizures. Seizure medicine requires a prescription, and doctors do not typically prescribe them to people who think they may have seizures from drinking.

Understanding Alcoholic Seizures: Navigating the Storm

With regard to the recently published article by Sandeep et al.,1 we wish to raise a few methodological issues, which can impact the study findings. Most importantly, there is a need for clarity on the criteria for seizures to qualify as alcohol-related seizures (ARS). Independent predictors for alcohol consumption within the last 12 months. Your insurance plan may cover some or all of the cost of treatment for drug or alcohol addiction. Our online health insurance verification system will estimate your in-network and out-of-network deductibles, coinsurance percentages and out-of-pocket maximums. Within 5 minutes, you’ll receive an email with these details – free of charge.

Lifestyle Quizzes

In that group, the mean amount of alcohol intake prior to the seizures was 10.9 standard drinks. All of these patients stated that they had stopped alcohol consumption because of the experience of alcohol-related seizures. Human and animal data have shown that acute alcohol intake has a biphasic effect on the central nervous system (CNS). Initially, the inhibitory gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic effect of alcohol exerts CNS depressant and anticonvulsant properties (4, 5).

• Out of 310 interviewed subjects, 204 (65.8%) had used alcohol within the last 12 months, 158 (51%) within the last 30 days, and 108 (34.8%) within the last 7 days.
• A 2017 review found that a history of alcohol misuse increased the risk of post-traumatic epilepsy in people with traumatic brain injury.
• Our results are in line with previous population-based study findings from Canada reporting a 12-month prevalence of alcohol use in patients with epilepsy of 57.6% (20).
• Searching for signatures of IGE in patients with ARS with the help of a scalp EEG will still be helpful to identify a very small subgroup (~1%) that may require long-term antiepileptic medication.
• Instead, median and range would have conveyed better information on variance or dispersion from mean.

In the post-alcohol state, however, when alcohol blood levels decline, neuronal excitability is increased which may facilitate the occurrence of seizures in patients with epilepsy (6, 7). Hangovers do not generally increase the risk of seizures, but they can play a role in seizures occurring. The greatest risk of a seizure during a hangover is not due to the hangover itself but to the long-term blood sugar effects of alcohol. Alcohol causes an initial spike in blood sugar levels, followed by a drop below normal levels for the next 12 hours.

• Alcohol acts on the brain through several mechanisms that influence seizure threshold.
• In multivariate analysis, alcohol consumption within the last 12 months was independently related to AED monotherapy.
• He had one seizure within 6 h of intake of alcohol and no withdrawal symptoms.
• Patient with findings of IGE in our series was having moderate degree of alcohol related problem.
• In our study population, alcohol consumption is probably underestimated.
• In the post-alcohol state, however, when alcohol blood levels decline, neuronal excitability is increased which may facilitate the occurrence of seizures in patients with epilepsy (6, 7).
• Those with an underlying health risk for seizures, a history of diabetes or who have experienced alcohol withdrawal seizures are most at risk.

Alcohol poisoning can lead to seizures, but these may not result from the alcohol intake itself. Lower blood sugar or head trauma caused by a sudden fall could be the underlying cause. In another 2020 study, researchers found that people with epilepsy were more 5 times more likely to die from alcohol-related causes than people without epilepsy. SUDEP is the sudden and unexpected death of a person with epilepsy who is otherwise healthy without a known cause. When people stop consuming alcohol after chronic use, they lose the inhibitory effects of the GABA receptors, resulting in the central nervous system being overstimulated. Heavy alcohol consumption is a common trigger for seizures in those who already have epilepsy.

In people with epilepsy, drinking three or more drinks may increase the risk of seizures. Possible confounding variables that were included in the logistic regression model regarding the occurrence of alcohol-related seizures in patients with epilepsy within the last 12 months. The aim of this study is to characterize the clinical profile of patients with alcohol related seizures (ARS) and to identify the prevalence of idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) in the same. For someone with a serious alcohol use disorder, withdrawal should only be attempted under the supervision of medical professionals who can intervene if complications arise. Often people going through withdrawal will be given a benzodiazepine to minimize the severity of symptoms and reduce the risk of brain hyperexcitability and subsequent seizure activity. Even in the 1960s, seizures during alcohol withdrawal were known as “rum fits.” The risk for seizures during withdrawal is correlated to the frequency and amount of alcohol consumed.