Brain and body disconnect: A retrospective case series of subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord from chronic nitrous oxide use in Perth, Western Australia.
Drug and alcohol review September 1, 2024 Jessamine Soderstrom, Jodie Grigg, Owen Mcwilliam et al. 5 citations
Chronic nitrous oxide use inactivates vitamin B12, causing neurological and psychiatric damage. A case series from an Australian emergency department between 2019 and 2021 identified 22 patients, mostly young males (median age 22.4 years), who inhaled a median of 150 bulbs daily for 9 months. Common symptoms included ataxia, numbness, falls, urinary retention, and psychosis; 12 of 14 patients who underwent MRI had spinal cord degeneration. All received vitamin B12 injections, and many also oral methionine. Hospital stays lasted a median of 4 days, costing about $2,061 per day. The data prompted public health measures such as warning labels, purchase limits, and legal restrictions on sales intended for abuse.