The addicted brain: Imaging neurological complications of recreational drug abuse

Abstract Recreational drug abuse represents a serious public health problem. Neuroimaging traditionally played a secondary role in this scenario, where it was limited to detecting acute vascular events. However, thanks to advances in knowledge about disease and in morphological and functional imagin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inRadiología (English ed.) Vol. 59; no. 1; pp. 17 - 30
Main Authors Montoya-Filardi, A, Mazón, M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier España, S.L.U 01.01.2017
Subjects
Atrofia
Atrophy
Biochemical mechanisms
Drogas de abuso
Functional imaging
Hemorragia
Hemorrhage
Imagen funcional
Infarction
Infarto
Leucoencefalopatía
Leukoencephalopathy
Magnetic resonance imaging
Marchiafava–Bignami
Mecanismo bioquímico
Radiology
Recreational drugs
Resonancia magnética
Resonancia magnética
Biochemical mechanisms
Recreational drugs
Drogas de abuso
Infarto
Hemorragia
Leucoencefalopatía
Hemorrhage
Leukoencephalopathy
Atrofia
Atrophy
Magnetic resonance imaging
Imagen funcional
Marchiafava–Bignami
Infarction
Mecanismo bioquímico
Functional imaging
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Summary:Abstract Recreational drug abuse represents a serious public health problem. Neuroimaging traditionally played a secondary role in this scenario, where it was limited to detecting acute vascular events. However, thanks to advances in knowledge about disease and in morphological and functional imaging techniques, radiologists have now become very important in the diagnosis of acute and chronic neurological complications of recreational drug abuse. The main complications are neurovascular disease, infection, toxicometabolic disorders, and brain atrophy. The nonspecific symptoms and denial of abuse make the radiologist's involvement fundamental in the management of these patients. Neuroimaging makes it possible to detect early changes and to suggest an etiological diagnosis in cases with specific patterns of involvement. We aim to describe the pattern of abuse and the pathophysiological mechanisms of the drugs with the greatest neurological repercussions as well as to illustrate the depiction of the acute and chronic cerebral complications on conventional and functional imaging techniques.
ISSN:2173-5107
2173-5107
DOI:10.1016/j.rxeng.2016.12.003