ABSTRACT
A total of 271 million people aged between 16 and 64 years, approximately 5.5 per cent of the world's population, were estimated to use drugs at least once during 2017 according to the World Health Organization (WHO 2019). Alcohol and other recreational drugs are widely used in many societies and can result in significant neuropathological changes. Ethanol is an alcohol consumed in alcoholic beverages. It produces neurological dysfunction both directly and secondary to vitamin deficiencies and metabolic dysfunction. Alcohol is typically consumed orally and rapidly absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, mostly in the small bowel. The acute intoxicant effect of alcohol varies significantly from person to person depending on a number of factors. The interaction of alcohol with the compromised brain is of considerable forensic interest. The neuropathological features associated with thiamine deficiency are most commonly seen in people with alcohol problems but may be seen in other rare causes of extreme malnutrition.
