27.2k views
3 votes
True or false? delirium tremens that can occur during withdrawal is not harmful and should probably be allowed to run its course.

User StyxRiver
by
5.8k points

1 Answer

4 votes
The right answer is false.

When alcohol withdrawal is too sudden after chronic consumption of alcohol, the inhibition/excitation equilibrium is broken: the body does not have time to compensate for the absence of inhibitory molecules (GABA and alcohol) and must make facing an excess of excitatory neurotransmitters.Result: neuronal hyperexcitability as severe as brutal (harmful). It is this overactivation that exposes the risk of delirium tremens.
User Peter Robert
by
6.3k points