Alcohol-related seizures and the kindling effect of repeated detoxifications: the influence of cocaine.

The purpose of this study was to determine if individuals with concurrent alcohol and cocaine use differ in regard to seizure risk compared to individuals who abuse only alcohol, and to explore the relationship between multiple detoxifications and seizure risk in the context of concurrent cocaine use. In this study, alcoholic cocaine users had a decreased risk of seizure compared to alcoholics without cocaine use (P < 0.005). Seizures were rare in individuals who did not abuse alcohol. Alcoholic cocaine users reported a younger age at first seizure compared to alcoholics without cocaine use (P < 0.04). Alcoholic patients with seizures had significantly more previous detoxification experiences compared to matched alcoholic patients without seizures (P = 0.0001). Concurrent cocaine use did not appear to have an independent effect on the risk of seizure. The findings in this study suggest that concurrent cocaine use may accelerate the development of alcohol-related seizures in predisposed individuals but does not appear to substantially increase overall risk. Multiple previous detoxifications are associated with an increased risk of seizures in alcoholics both with and without concurrent cocaine use.