Influence of microelement concentration on the intensity of alcohol withdrawal syndrome.

AIMS To establish a nutritional and constitutional profile concerning the micronutrient plasma concentration of patients who suffer from AWS. METHOD Observational case control study to determine whether patients who exhibited symptoms of AWS (N = 60) had micronutrient plasmatic concentration deficiencies when compared with healthy controls (N = 34). RESULTS There were statistically significant differences between the concentrations of nutrients that are correlated with glutamate hyperactivity (zinc, magnesium and folate/vitamin B12/homocysteine). CONCLUSION Evidence from literature and our experiment suggests that brain activity, especially the glutamatergic system, might be directly involved in micronutrient concentrations. Therefore, their supplementation to the AWS patient might improve symptom evolution.