Clinical and image features of toxic encephalopathy induced by inhaling heroin / 中华神经科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study clinical manifestations and imagine features (CT and MRI) on toxic encephalopathy after inhaling heroin. Methods 13 patients with toxic encephalopathy induced by inhaling heroin were observed and analyzed on its clinical and imagine features (CT and MRI).Results 13 patients all were male, and were intoxicated by way of inhaling heroin vapour. Nine cases had appearances of clinical manifestations during abrupt abstinence. The main clinical manifestations of the disease were of the sub-acute diffuse cerebral lesions, especially of early mental symptoms and cerebellum ataxia. The CT of all 13 cases showed multiple white matter lesions involving in the frontal, parietal, occipital,temporal, and cerebellum hemisphere dentate nucleus. There was no occupational mass shown in general. The MRI of 6 cases showing focus was the same as of the CT. Conclusion The diagnosis of HTE should be dependent on the definite inhaling heroin vapour and their clinical features and neuroradiological appearance. CT should be valuable for the diagnosis of HTE, and the MRI as well. Corticosteroids show less therapeutic effect on such diesease.