[Neurologic adverse effects of piperazine]

Piperazine has been used since the end of the nineteenth century as a urine alkalizing agent in gout and more widely in the past thirty years for its antihelmintic properties. It is known for being well tolerated and of low toxicity. However, there are cases, sometimes in particular circumstances, where piperazine causes severe and impressive neurological disorders, which can be totally reversed if the medication is discontinued. The disorders are accompanied by consistent, but similarly reversible, electroencephalographic changes. The etiopathogenesis of these accidents caused by piperazine is discussed.