Nitrous Oxide/Whippits-Induced Thoracic Spinal Cord Myelopathy and Cognitive Decline With Normal Serum Vitamin B₁₂

Show simplified metadata
dc.contributor.authorSrichawla, Bahadar S
dc.contributor.departmentNeurologyen_US
dc.date.accessioned2023-09-12T17:10:03Z
dc.date.available2023-09-12T17:10:03Z
dc.date.issued2022-04-29
dc.description.abstractAbuse of nitrous oxide leads to irreversible neurologic deficits. Nitrous oxide is commonly abused through the inhalation of whipped cream canisters. These whipped cream chargers, also known as "whippits," are widely available in the United States and their sale is unregulated. There is an increasing prevalence of whippet abuse, and many are unaware of the catastrophic effects. The mechanism of injury is mediated through severe depletion of vitamin B₁₂. Here, we report a case of nitrous oxide abuse leading to thoracic cord myelopathy. The patient has been inhaling approximately 80-100 nitrous oxide canisters daily for three months total. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spinal cord illustrates the lesion within the thoracic cord. Further diagnostic workup with serum vitamin B₁₂ levels was normal. However, elevated levels of methylmalonic acid (MMA) were seen. Despite supplementation of vitamin B₁₂, the patient's neurologic deficits persisted, and he was referred to a rehabilitation center. The abuse of whippets is a serious public health threat and warrants greater regulation of their sale. MMA and holotranscobalamin (holoTC) are improved biomarkers for diagnosing vitamin B₁₂ deficiency.en_US
dc.identifier.citationSrichawla BS. Nitrous Oxide/Whippits-Induced Thoracic Spinal Cord Myelopathy and Cognitive Decline With Normal Serum Vitamin B₁₂. Cureus. 2022 Apr 29;14(4):e24581. doi: 10.7759/cureus.24581. PMID: 35664396; PMCID: PMC9148417.en_US
dc.identifier.doi10.7759/cureus.24581en_US
dc.identifier.issn2168-8184
dc.identifier.journalCureus
dc.identifier.pmid35664396
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/52485
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.relation.ispartofCureusen_US
dc.relation.urlhttps://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.24581en_US
dc.rights© Copyright 2022 Srichawla. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY 4.0., which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_US
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/*
dc.source.beginpagee24581
dc.source.countryUnited States
dc.source.endpage
dc.source.issue4
dc.source.journaltitleCureus
dc.source.volume14
dc.subjectdrug addictionen_US
dc.subjectmethylmalonic aciden_US
dc.subjectneurologyen_US
dc.subjectnitrous oxide abuseen_US
dc.subjectnitrous oxide myelopathyen_US
dc.subjectpsychiatryen_US
dc.subjectpublic healthen_US
dc.subjectsubstance use disorderen_US
dc.subjectvitamin b12en_US
dc.subjectwhippitsen_US
dc.titleNitrous Oxide/Whippits-Induced Thoracic Spinal Cord Myelopathy and Cognitive Decline With Normal Serum Vitamin B₁₂en_US
dc.typeCase Reporten_US
dspace.entity.typePublication
refterms.dateFOA2023-09-12T17:10:04Z
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
20220529-23711-wf9u8k.pdf
Size:
287.24 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.5 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
UMass Chan Faculty and Researcher Publications