Connecting the dots: an association between opioids and acute hippocampal injury.

Connecting the dots: an association between opioids and acute hippocampal injury.
Neurocase. 2018 May 18;:1-8
Authors: Barash JA, Kofke WA
Abstract
Acute hippocampal injury represents a relatively rare cause of amnesia. Interestingly however, between 2012 and 2017, 18 patients were reported at hospitals in Massachusetts with sudden-onset amnesia in the setting of complete diffusion-weighted hyperintensity of both hippocampi on magnetic resonance imaging. Notably, 17 of the 18 patients tested positive for opioids or had a recorded history of opioid use. This observation suggests an association between opioids and acute hippocampal injury. With particular attention to the Massachusetts cluster and data on fentanyl and its congeners, the epidemiological and pathophysiological evidence that supports this hypothesis is presented, as are potential underlying mechanisms.
PMID: 29774783 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Neurocase - May 18, 2018 Category: Neurology Authors: Barash JA, Kofke WA Tags: Neurocase Source Type: research