Authors
Naoki Akamatsu
Published in
Brain and nerve = Shinkei kenkyu no shinpo. Volume 78. Issue 11. Pages 1175-1180.
Abstract
The association between alcohol consumption and epilepsy is both complex and clinically significant. Acute alcohol intake suppresses central nervous system activity, while abrupt cessation of chronic heavy drinking can trigger rebound neuronal hyperexcitability, resulting in alcohol withdrawal seizures. In patients with epilepsy, heavy or binge drinking may increase seizure risk, particularly when concurrent with sleep deprivation, poor antiseizure medication adherence, dehydration, nutritional disturbances, or metabolic abnormalities. Alcohol-related seizures must be distinguished from alcohol withdrawal seizures, seizures associated with underlying epilepsy, and acute symptomatic seizures attributable to other causes, such as head trauma, cerebrovascular disease, infection, and metabolic disturbances. Therefore, clinical assessments should consider the amount and pattern of alcohol consumption, interval between the last drink and seizure onset, withdrawal symptoms, seizure characteristics, epilepsy history, medication adherence, and other potential precipitants. Benzodiazepines are the mainstay of acute management for alcohol withdrawal seizures, with treatment aiming to control withdrawal syndrome and prevent severe complications, in addition to preventing recurrent seizures. Although heavy alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of seizures and epilepsy, evidence regarding the effects of low-level alcohol consumption remains limited. Individualized risk assessment and counseling are essential in clinical practice.
PMID:
43014721
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 12 Nov 2026.
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