Methanol intoxication-induced nigrostriatal dysfunction detected using 6-[18F]fluoro-L-dopa PET

Ingestion of windshield washer liquid resulted with an acute severe methanol intoxication in a 49-year old man. He developed optic atrophy with blindness, and an extrapyramidal syndrome. Putaminal injury and hyperintensity in the subcortical white matter was seen in a brain MRI. PET scanning with 6-[18F]fluoro-L-dopa confirmed symmetrical impaired presynaptic dopaminergic activity in the striatum, indicative of functional impairment of dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons. The striatal uptake was more markedly impaired in the putamina (40% of controls) than in the caudate nuclei (60% of controls). To our knowledge, this is the first report of an 18F-dopa PET scanning result in a case of an acute methanol poisoning.