Occurrence of cerebral seizures provoked by alcohol abuse

Abstract

Alcohol intoxication was detected in the immediate history of 277 (49%) of the 560 consecutive seizure patients brought to the emergency room of Meilahti hospital in Helsinki during the course of a year, most of these patients being young men of working age. The alcohol-provoked seizures occurred mainly on Sunday and Monday, following the weekly pattern of alcohol consumption in Finland, and preceded delirium tremens in 21 patients (4%). Even short periods of intoxication (1-2 days) provoked seizures. The data indicate that among patients with a previous history of recurrent alcohol-withdrawal seizures, new treatable diseases of the CNS, especially acute brain injuries, are frequently encountered. Therefore, all seizure problems, not neglecting those of alcoholics, should be carefully examined.