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Delirium tremens (DTs; lit. ' mental disturbance with shaking ') is a rapid onset of confusion usually caused by withdrawal from alcohol. [2] When it occurs, it is often three days into the withdrawal symptoms and lasts for two to three days. [2]
Seizures carry the risk of major complications and death for individuals with an alcohol use disorder. [ 16 ] [ 13 ] Although the person's condition usually begins to improve after 48 hours, withdrawal symptoms sometimes continue to increase in severity and advance to the most severe stage of withdrawal, delirium tremens .
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has found, "Alcoholism may accelerate normal aging or cause premature aging of the brain." [6] Another report by the same agency found, "Chronic alcohol consumption, as well as chronic glucocorticoid exposure, can result in premature and/or exaggerated aging."
Alcohol abuse affects neurons in the frontal cortex that typically have a large soma, or cell body. This type of neuron is more susceptible to Alzheimer's disease and normal aging. Research is still being conducted to determine whether there is a direct link between excessive alcohol consumption and Alzheimer's disease.
Drug withdrawal, drug withdrawal syndrome, or substance withdrawal syndrome [1] is the group of symptoms that occur upon the abrupt discontinuation or decrease in the intake of pharmaceutical or recreational drugs. In order for the symptoms of withdrawal to occur, one must have first developed a form of drug dependence.
In some cases these substance-induced psychiatric disorders can persist long after detoxification from amphetamine, cocaine, opioid, and alcohol use, causing prolonged psychosis, anxiety or depression. A protracted withdrawal syndrome can occur with symptoms persisting for months to years after cessation of substance use.
A 2012 study conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University concluded that the U.S. treatment system is in need of a “significant overhaul” and questioned whether the country’s “low levels of care that addiction patients usually do receive constitutes a form of medical malpractice.”
Long-term alcohol abuse can create a deficiency of thiamine, magnesium, zinc, folate, and phosphate as well as cause low blood sugar. [10] However, several drugs have been shown to stop the hallucinations. Neuroleptics and benzodiazepines showed normalization. Common benzodiazepines include chlordiazepoxide and lorazepam.