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Published on: November 14, 2012
Imaging of subacute blood-brain barrier disruption after methadone overdose
Branko N Huisa1, Charles Gasparovic, Saeid Taheri
1Department of Neurology, University of New Mexico, Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA. bhuisa@unm.edu
Background:
Methadone intoxication can cause respiratory depression, leading to hypoxia with subsequent coma and death. Delayed postanoxic leukoencephalopathy (DAL) has been reported with intoxication by carbon monoxide, narcotics, and other toxins.
Objective:
To investigate the metabolic derangement of the white matter (WM) and blood-brain barrier (BBB) after DAL caused by methadone overdose.
Design, Setting, And Patients:
Case report of 2 patients with DAL after a single dose of "diverted" methadone used for pain control.
Results:
In both cases brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed initial extensive bilateral restricted diffusion lesions within the WM. Follow-up MRI using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging ((1) H-MRSI) showed markedly lower N-acetylaspartate and higher choline within the WM. BBB permeability, calculated by Patlak graphical analysis of MRI T1 data obtained after contrast agent injection, showed disruption of the BBB within the WM lesions, which persisted longer than a year in 1 patient. Neuropsychological evaluation showed executive dysfunction in both patients. After 1 year, one patient recovered whereas the second remained impaired.
Conclusions:
Methadone overdose can cause DAL with profound disturbances of neural metabolism and the BBB. The time course of these disturbances can be monitored with MR methods.
