A condition where damage to the peripheral nervous system (including the peripheral elements of the autonomic nervous system) is associated with chronic ingestion of alcoholic beverages. The disorder may be caused by a direct effect of alcohol, an associated nutritional deficiency, or a combination of factors. Clinical manifestations include variable degrees of weakness; ATROPHY; PARESTHESIAS; pain; loss of reflexes; sensory loss; diaphoresis; and postural hypotension. (From Arch Neurol 1995;52(1):45-51; Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p1146)

(alcoholic polyneuropathy) Any disease affecting more than one nerve.

The development of peripheral neuropathy, specifically the formation of primary axonal sensorimotor peripheral polyneuropathy, is a risk for persons with a history of chronic consumption of large volumes of alcohol. Symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy, like those of many of the other axonal mixed polyneuropathies, manifest initially in the...