Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026
07:07
Assessment of Endothelial Cell Migration After Exposure to Toxic Chemicals
Published on: July 10, 2015
Methotrexate-induced toxic leukoencephalopathy
Geri M Gowan1, Jon D Herrington, Alexander B Simonetta
1Department of Pharmacy, Scott and White Memorial Hospital and Clinic, Temple, Texas 76508, USA. ggowan@swmail.sw.org
Pharmacotherapy
|September 12, 2002
Summary
Drug-induced leukoencephalopathy can be severe. A case report highlights a patient who developed this condition after intraventricular methotrexate, even without cranial radiation exposure, suggesting other risk factors may be involved.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Drug-induced leukoencephalopathy is a serious adverse event associated with significant morbidity and mortality.
- Established risk factors include advanced age, specific chemotherapies, Ommaya devices, central nervous system malignancies, and cranial radiation exposure.
Observation:
- A 73-year-old female patient presented with leukoencephalopathy.
- The condition manifested two months after her final dose of intraventricular methotrexate.
Findings:
- This case is notable as the leukoencephalopathy developed in the absence of prior cranial radiation exposure.
- This suggests that intraventricular methotrexate alone, or in combination with other unstated factors, can induce leukoencephalopathy.
Implications:
- The findings expand the understanding of potential triggers for drug-induced leukoencephalopathy.
- Further research is warranted to elucidate the specific mechanisms and identify all contributing factors beyond cranial radiation.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: Affecting Factors
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) is the clinical practice of measuring specific drug levels in a patient's blood or body tissues to manage and optimize therapy. TDM is crucial for drugs with narrow therapeutic windows, like warfarin and phenytoin, where incorrect doses can lead to treatment failure or severe side effects. This monitoring ensures the dosage administered is within a safe and effective range. The factors affecting therapeutic drug monitoring include:Patient-Specific Factors:a.
01:27Cryptococcal Meningitis
Cryptococcal meningitis is a life-threatening opportunistic infection predominantly associated with HIV/AIDS, accounting for over 100,000 deaths annually worldwide. However, it also affects individuals with other forms of immunosuppression, including those undergoing immunosuppressive therapy, organ transplant recipients, patients with innate immunodeficiencies, and individuals with hematological disorders. The infection is caused mainly by Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii,...
01:28Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, poses significant public health challenges globally due to its high seroprevalence and varied clinical manifestations. As an obligate intracellular parasite, T. gondii can infect all warm-blooded vertebrates, but felids are its only definitive hosts, shedding unsporulated oocysts into the environment. Humans typically acquire the infection through ingestion of tissue cysts in undercooked meat or oocysts from...
01:19Encephalitis l: Introduction
Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain parenchyma, most often due to infections or autoimmune processes. It presents with neuropsychiatric features such as fever, altered mental status, behavioral changes, cognitive dysfunction, seizures, focal deficits, and sometimes autonomic instability. In some cases, the meninges are also involved, resulting in meningoencephalitis.Infectious CausesInfectious encephalitis is most commonly viral but can also result from bacterial, fungal, or parasitic...
01:29Hepatic Encephalopathy
DefinitionHepatic encephalopathy is a reversible neurologic syndrome that results from advanced liver dysfunction or portosystemic shunting. It leads to disturbances in cognition, behavior, and motor function due to the brain’s exposure to gut-derived toxins that the liver fails to detoxify.EtiologyThis condition develops either in the setting of acute fulminant hepatitis or progressively during chronic liver disease, such as cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Portosystemic shunting—including...
01:21Antiprotozoal Agents
Leishmaniasis is a widespread parasitic disease caused by several Leishmania species. It affects millions of people each year and remains a major public health problem in endemic regions. First-line treatment relies on pentavalent antimonials, including meglumine antimoniate and sodium stibogluconate. Even so, how these drugs work has not been fully clear, especially their interaction with parasite-specific biochemical pathways. One key target is trypanothione reductase (TR), an enzyme that...