New Delhi:
Inhaling the synthetic opioid fentanyl – approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use as a pain relief and anesthetic – can cause irreversible brain damage, according to a new study.
Fentanyl is cheap, easily available and 50 times more powerful than heroin, doctors warned in the journal BMJ Case Reports after treating a 47-year-old man found unconscious in his hotel room after snorting the drug.
“We know very well the classic side effects of opiates: respiratory depression, loss of consciousness, disorientation,” says lead author Chris Eden, now a second-year internal medicine resident at Oregon Health & Science University.
“But classically we don't think it causes potentially irreversible brain damage and affects the brain, as in this case,” he added.
The middle-aged man was diagnosed with toxic leukoencephalopathy after inhaling fentanyl, meaning the substance caused inflammation and damage to the white matter of the brain. This led to unconsciousness and also to possible irreversible loss of brain function, or possibly death.
The condition manifests in various signs and symptoms, the most obvious of which are neurological and behavioral changes, ranging from mild confusion to stupor, coma and death.
Although recovery is slow, some people will make a full recovery, while others will gradually worsen.
In this case, a brain scan revealed white matter inflammation, swelling and injury in his cerebellum – a part of the brain responsible for walking and balance.
The man remained bedridden for 18 days later and was fed through a tube. Doctors prescribed various medications to treat urinary incontinence, kidney damage, cognitive impairment, suspected opioid withdrawal, pain and agitation, and pneumonia.
After 26 days he underwent rehabilitation and after another month he returned home. However, outpatient physiotherapy and occupational therapy continued.
The investigation found that it took him almost a year to fully recover and return to work full-time.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)