David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Use of 'Poppers' Linked to Vision Loss in Several Patients
Oct 13, 2010
Journal letter discusses foveal photoreceptor damage following use of recreational drugs
Alkyl nitrite "poppers" -- which have long been used as a recreational drug -- may be associated with phosphenes and prolonged vision loss, according to a letter published in the Oct. 14 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Catherine Vignal-Clermont, M.D., of the Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild in Paris, and colleagues discuss several patients, seen in close succession, who had vision loss due to foveal photoreceptor damage after they inhaled poppers.
The researchers discuss in detail one patient who presented with an 11-day history of bilateral vision impairment and a bilateral "central bright dot" after using poppers at a party. Visual acuity in the right and left eyes was 20/50 and 20/40, and fundus examination revealed a yellow foveal dot in both eyes. The patient's symptoms and examination findings were unchanged a month later.
"Consumers and ophthalmologists should be aware of the possible retinal toxicity of poppers. In patients with recent bilateral visual loss and phosphenes, this diagnosis should be considered," the authors write.
Full Text
Oct 13, 2010
Journal letter discusses foveal photoreceptor damage following use of recreational drugs
Alkyl nitrite "poppers" -- which have long been used as a recreational drug -- may be associated with phosphenes and prolonged vision loss, according to a letter published in the Oct. 14 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Catherine Vignal-Clermont, M.D., of the Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild in Paris, and colleagues discuss several patients, seen in close succession, who had vision loss due to foveal photoreceptor damage after they inhaled poppers.
The researchers discuss in detail one patient who presented with an 11-day history of bilateral vision impairment and a bilateral "central bright dot" after using poppers at a party. Visual acuity in the right and left eyes was 20/50 and 20/40, and fundus examination revealed a yellow foveal dot in both eyes. The patient's symptoms and examination findings were unchanged a month later.
"Consumers and ophthalmologists should be aware of the possible retinal toxicity of poppers. In patients with recent bilateral visual loss and phosphenes, this diagnosis should be considered," the authors write.
Full Text
