Neurological complications of alcoholic disease and ways of their correction

The problem of alcohol abuse and its social and medical consequences has remained relevant for many years. Damage to the nervous system is one of the most common manifestations of alcoholic disease. The effect of ethanol and its metabolites results in damage to all parts of the nervous system and skeletal muscles. The paper provides a brief overview of Russian and foreign literature on the neurological manifestations of chronic alcohol intoxication. It considers modern ideas about the pathogenesis of alcoholic neuropathy (APN). It also discusses differences in the clinical presentation, course, and developmental mechanisms of the main (chronic toxic and acute/subacute) forms of APN associated with thiamine deficiency. The paper notes difficulties in diagnosing peripheral nerve damage, especially in the early stages of the disease and describes modern methods for objectifying damage to thin nerve fibers in chronic APN. It presents approaches to treating alcohol-induced damage to the peripheral nervous system, by taking into account the leading mechanisms of pathogenesis. Special attention is paid to B-complex vitamins and alpha-lipoic acid preparations frequently used in this disease, to the mechanisms of their therapeutic action, and to the evaluation of their efficacy in APN