title: Acute necrotizing myopathy and podophyllin toxicity. Report of a fatal case.
abstract: A 21 year old male ingested podophyllin in a suicide attempt. The disorder was marked by seizures, coma, peripheral neuropathy, renal failure and acute necrotizing myopathy, an unusual finding. The coma and systemic disturbances resolved within three weeks. The myopathy resolved in 7 weeks, demonstrating a high capacity of muscle recuperation. The sensorimotor peripheral neuropathy persisted until the patient's death 9 weeks after the ingestion, due to septicemia. This report confirms the transient central neurotoxicity of podophyllin and persistent peripheral neurotoxicity of podophyllin, and describes a reversible necrotizing myopathy associated to mitochondrial abnormalities, a still unreported feature of podophyllin toxicity.
authors.affiliation: Doutor em Neurologia pela Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Calia
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Kiyomoto
authors.forename: E F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Póvoa
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Gabbai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017240:Mitochondrial Myopathies / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology; D009336:Necrosis; D011033:Podophyllin / Q000506:poisoning*; D018805:Sepsis; D013405:Suicide
chemical_list: D011033:Podophyllin