Epileptic seizures and alcoholism. Clinical and pathogenetic aspects.

The term "alcoholic epilepsy" has had controversial interpretations and has been applied to different alcohol syndromes. In the present study, a homogeneous population of alcohol abusers was retrospectively studied with the aim of clarifying the relationship between alcohol and epilepsy. If subjects who present with potentially epileptogenic lesions are excluded, strictly alcohol-related seizures seem to be withdrawal symptoms from a pathogenetic point of view. They, even if repeated, do not deserve the term "epilepsy" and probably should not be chronically treated with antiepileptic drugs. Finally, no characteristic interictal EEG pattern was found in alcoholics with seizures.