Disorders of spinal cord, nerve, and muscle

Substance abuse may lead to acute or chronic injuries to the spinal cord or PNS in addition to injuries caused by trauma and infection. The most widespread of these conditions are the chronic myopathy and chronic peripheral neuropathy of alcoholism. Less common, but more striking, illnesses attributed to substance abuse include ATM, a subacute myeloradiculoneuropathy resembling combined systems disease, Guillain-Barré syndrome, plexitis, fulminant axonal neuropathy, and acute myoglobinuria with or without severe weakness. If the cause of such syndromes is not otherwise evident, careful probing may reveal a possible causal substance abuse history. Publicity about an imputed association may sometimes (as in inhalant abuse) change the behavior of persons at risk and prevent more cases.