[The problem of polyneuropathy in methaqualone medication]

Thirteen years after the introduction of methaqualone into therapy, investigators (namely, Finke, Spiegelberg, and Suchenwirth), by reference to individual cases, pointed out the possible development of polyneuropathies. This has not so far been confirmed despite worldwide use of the drug. Experiments on rats, which were conducted by the present authors, show a statistically significant decrease in maximum motor conduction speed, which is believed to be functional disorder. Clinical symptoms or nervous structural variations in the sense of polyneuropathy could not be observed.