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Pharmacotherapy and Pathophysiology of Alcohol Withdrawal

1995; Springer Science+Business Media; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/978-3-642-78435-4_13

1865-0325

Raymond F. Anton, Howard C. Becker,

Infectious Encephalopathies and Encephalitis

The alcohol withdrawal syndrome has received increased attention over the past 40 years and it is now well established that the abrupt reduction, or total cessation, of chronic alcohol use will lead to a set of predictable signs and symptoms. Although it was suspected in the latter half of the nineteenth century that alcohol withdrawal could produce seizures (HUSS 1852), it was only in the middle of the twentieth century that the alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) was fully described (VICTOR and ADAMS 1953) and demonstrated experimentally by Isbell and colleagues (ISBELL et al. 1955) and later by MENDELSON and LADOU (1963). Since that time numerous animal models have been developed to examine the pathophysiology and impact of varying conditions of alcohol intake and pharmacologic manipulation on the AWS. Considerable progress has been made in understanding the pathophysiologic mechanisms that underlie the AWS. Knowledge gained from animal models, along with clinical experience and methodologic developments, have led to advances in the treatment of the AWS.