A Tertiary Care Hospital Based Prospective Study for Evaluation of Peripheral Nerve Conduction and Superoxide Dismutase Levels in Alcoholic Dependence Syndrome

Abstract

Background: The development of alcohol dependence is a complex and dynamic process. When some persons with alcohol dependence reduce or stop taking alcohol, they develop a set of symptoms and signs called as alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Hence; the present study was conducted in the department of human anatomy, physiology and general surgery with the aim of assessing Peripheral Nerve Conduction and Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) Levels in Alcoholic Dependence Syndrome.Materials & Methods: A total of 50 patients with presence of alcoholic dependence syndrome were enrolled. Complete demographic and clinical details of all the subjects were obtained. Another set of age matched 50 healthy subjects were enrolled as control group. For the determination of SOD activity, sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used. SOD expressed in U/ml. Peripheral nerve conduction was evaluated. All the results were recorded and analyzed by SPSS software. Pearson’s correlation was used for evaluation of level of significance. Results: Mean SOD levels among alcoholic syndromic group and control group was 41.8 U/ml and 26.2 U/ml respectively. Significant results were obtained while comparing the mean SOD levels among the two study groups. Peripheral neuropathy was seen in 24 percent of the patients of the study group.Conclusion: There is significant alteration in the Peripheral Nerve Conduction and Superoxide Dismutase Levels in Alcoholic Dependence Syndrome patients.