Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026
08:23
Adaptation of Microelectrode Array Technology for the Study of Anesthesia-induced Neurotoxicity in the Intact Piglet Brain
Published on: May 12, 2018
[Pharmacologically-induced neurocatastrophes].
1Sección de Neurología, Hospital General de Segovia, Segovia, España. ctabernerog@meditex.es
Neurologia (Barcelona, Spain)
|December 7, 2010
Summary
Adverse drug reactions are a major health issue, causing hospitalizations and deaths. This review details drug-induced neurological problems, including cerebrovascular events and epilepsy.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology
- Neurology
- Toxicology
Context:
- Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are a significant global health concern.
- ADRs contribute to 5% of hospital admissions and are a leading cause of mortality.
- Neurological manifestations are among the most common ADRs.
Purpose:
- To review drug-induced neurological disorders.
- To highlight catastrophic cerebrovascular events, confusional syndromes, epilepsy, structural encephalopathy, neuromuscular disorders, movement disorders, and infections caused by medications.
Summary:
- This article provides a comprehensive overview of various neurological conditions that can be induced by medications.
- It covers a spectrum of severe neurological outcomes, emphasizing the importance of considering drug toxicity in differential diagnoses.
- Specific conditions discussed include stroke-like events, delirium, seizures, brain damage, muscle weakness, abnormal movements, and drug-related infections.
Impact:
- Enhances clinical awareness of potential drug-induced neurological complications.
- Aids healthcare professionals in diagnosing and managing patients experiencing neurological symptoms potentially linked to medications.
- Underscores the critical need for vigilant medication review and adverse event reporting in clinical practice.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Desensitization and Tachyphylaxis
Tachyphylaxis is described as a rapid decrease in response to a drug after repeated or continuous administration of the same drug dose. It is a phenomenon where the body becomes less responsive to a particular substance or intervention over time, requiring higher doses or stronger interventions to achieve the same effect. It results from adaptive changes in the body's receptors, signaling pathways, or physiological processes that occur in response to prolonged exposure to a stimulus.
Several...
Several...
01:24Drug Toxicity: Dose-Dependent Reactions
Drug toxicities can be stratified into pharmacological, pathological, or genotoxic based on their mechanisms. The incidence and severity of these toxicities generally increase with the drug's concentration in the body and exposure time.Pharmacological toxicity is evident when the therapeutic effects of drugs overshoot into adverse reactions in a predictable, dose-dependent manner. Central nervous system (CNS) depression from barbiturates is a classic example, with effects escalating from...
01:21Drugs Affecting Neurotransmitter Release or Uptake
Certain drugs can affect how neurotransmitters called catecholamines, are released or taken back up in the adrenergic neuron. They can have different effects on the body's sympathetic transmission. Reserpine, a natural compound found in the Rauwolfia shrub, blocks a transporter called vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT), which leads to a buildup of catecholamines in the cell and reduces sympathetic transmission. Another drug called guanethidine works in multiple ways, including blocking...
01:26Pharmaceutical Poisoning: Potential Scenarios
Pharmaceutical poisoning can occur through various channels, impacting an estimated 2 million hospitalized patients in the U.S. annually with serious adverse drug responses. These scenarios encompass both therapeutic uses, such as drug toxicity, where even standard dosages can lead to severe central nervous system depression, and non-therapeutic exposures, including accidental ingestion by children, and environmental and occupational exposures.Unintentional poisonings often involve exploratory...
01:12Local Anesthetics: Adverse Effects
While local anesthetics are generally safe and well-tolerated, they can occasionally cause adverse effects that vary in severity. Local anesthetics can induce toxicity at two distinct levels. They can either produce local effects through direct contact with the neural elements or be absorbed into the bloodstream from the injection site, leading to systemic effects.
Once absorbed into the systemic circulation, local anesthetics can affect the organs that depend on the functioning of sodium...
Once absorbed into the systemic circulation, local anesthetics can affect the organs that depend on the functioning of sodium...
01:29Drugs Affecting Neurotransmitter Synthesis
Drugs affecting neurotransmitter synthesis can impact the adrenergic neuron and the synthesis of neurotransmitters. For example, α-methyltyrosine and carbidopa target specific enzymes involved in catecholamine synthesis. α-methyltyrosine inhibits the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase, which converts tyrosine into dopamine. By blocking this enzyme, α-methyltyrosine reduces dopamine production and other catecholamines. Carbidopa, on the other hand, inhibits the enzyme dopa decarboxylase, which converts...