Peripheral and central vestibular disorders in alcoholics. A three-year follow-up study.

Vestibular disorders were found in all 33 Japanese men who had been drinking alcohol for over 20 years and who had abstained from alcohol for over 3 months before the tests were done. Six, 12, and 15 patients showed peripheral, central, and combined types of vestibular disorders, respectively. The peripheral disorder occurred in younger alcoholics (under 50 years old) with a drinking history of 20-30 years, and the combined disorder in older patients with a longer drinking history. The vestibular disorders, however, were not observed in any of 16 control non-alcoholics. A follow-up study on seven alcoholics with a 3-year abstinence from alcohol revealed an improvement of vestibular dysfunctions, in particular of peripheral disorders, with an abstinence of over 2 years.