Methotrexate-induced leukoencephalopathy. A case report

Turk J Pediatr. 1995 Jul-Sep;37(3):275-8.

Abstract

A six-year-old girl with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who was treated with both intravenous (IV) and intrathecal (IT) methotrexate and developed brain damage secondary to the cytostatic drug is described. This patient displayed hypertension, hypothermia/hyperthermia, lethargy, deterioration and coma as clinical findings, and bilateral, focal white matter hyperintensities in the occipital lobes were seen in her magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Treatment-related leukoencephalopathy is one such adverse effect of IT methotrexate administration on the central nervous system and usually appears in a generalized form.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / adverse effects*
  • Brain Diseases / chemically induced*
  • Brain Diseases / diagnosis
  • Brain Diseases / diagnostic imaging
  • Brain Diseases / pathology
  • Child
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / drug therapy*
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Methotrexate / adverse effects*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Substances

  • Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic
  • Methotrexate