Methanol toxicity

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Methanol toxicity
Other namesMethanol poisoning, methanol overdose
PreventionConsuming safe alcoholic beverages
TreatmentAntidote, hemodialysis[2]
MedicationFomepizole, ethanol[2]
PrognosisGood with early treatment[1]
Frequency1,700 cases per year (US)[3]

Methanol toxicity (also methanol poisoning) is

Decreased vision may start as early as twelve hours after exposure.[2] Long-term outcomes may include blindness and kidney failure.[1] Blindness may occur after drinking as little as 10 mL; death may occur after drinking quantities over 15 mL (median 100 mL, varies depending on body weight).[1][4]

Methanol poisoning most commonly occurs following the drinking of

Early treatment increases the chance of a good outcome. Treatment consists of stabilizing the person, followed by the use of an

organ damage or a high degree of acidosis. Other treatments may include sodium bicarbonate, folate, and thiamine.[2]

Outbreaks of methanol ingestion have occurred due to contamination of

developing world.[2] In 2013 more than 1700 cases occurred in the United States. Those affected are usually adult and male.[3] Toxicity to methanol has been described as early as 1856.[5]

Signs and symptoms

The initial symptoms of methanol intoxication include

hyperemia of the optic disc and retinal edema
.

Cause

Methanol has a moderate to high toxicity in humans. As little as 10 mL of pure methanol when drunk is metabolized into

blindness by destruction of the optic nerve. 15 mL is potentially fatal,[1] although the median lethal dose is typically 100 mL (3.4 fl oz) (i.e. 1–2 mL/kg body weight of pure methanol).[9] Reference dose for methanol is 0.5 mg/kg/day.[10]

Moonshine distilled from fermented fruit

Although methanol is not produced in toxic amounts by fermentation of sugars from grain starches,[11] it is a major occurrence in fruit spirits.[12] However, in modern times, reducing methanol with the absorption of a molecular sieve is a practical method for production.[13]

Surrogate alcohol

Ethanol is sometimes denatured (adulterated), and made poisonous, by the addition of methanol. The result is known as methylated spirit, "meths" (British use) or "metho" (Australian slang). This is not to be confused with "meth", a common abbreviation for methamphetamine and for methadone in Britain and the United States.

Despite its poisonous content, denatured alcohol is sometimes consumed as a surrogate alcohol.

Mechanism

Methanol is

hypoxia at the cellular level, and metabolic acidosis, among a variety of other metabolic disturbances.[16]

Treatment

Methanol poisoning can be treated with

folic acid is also administered to enhance the metabolism of formate.[14]

History

There are cases of methanol resistance, such as that of Mike Malloy, whom someone tried and failed to poison by methanol in the early 1930s.[20]

In December 2016, 78 people died in Irkutsk, Russia from methanol poisoning after ingesting a counterfeit body lotion that was primarily methanol rather than ethanol as labeled. The body lotion, prior to the event, had been used as a cheap substitute for vodka by the impoverished people in the region despite warnings on the lotion's bottles that it was not safe for drinking and long-standing problems with alcohol poisoning across the country.[21]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Iranian media reported that nearly 300 people had died and over a thousand became ill due to methanol poisoning in the belief that drinking the alcohol could help with the disease.[22] In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration discovered that a number of brands of hand sanitizer manufactured in Mexico during the pandemic contained methanol, and urged the public to avoid using the affected products.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^
    PMID 22998995
    .
  2. ^ .
  3. ^ from the original on 2017-09-08.
  4. ^ "Methanol Poisoning Overview". Antizol. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.
  5. from the original on 2017-09-08.
  6. ^ National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (22 August 2008). "The Emergency Response Safety and Health Database: Methanol". Archived from the original on 23 April 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
  7. ^ Jafarizadeh, A., Homaie, M., Abdollahi, M., & Niyousha, M. (2023). Time course study of optical coherence tomography angiography in patients with methanol induced optic neuropathy. BMC ophthalmology, 23(1), 178. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12886-023-02937-x
  8. PMID 24350079
    .
  9. ^ "Methanol Poisoning Overview". Antizol. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.
  10. ^ Methanol (CASRN 67-56-1) Archived 2012-12-05 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Distillation: Some Purity Considerations". Moonshine Still. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  12. PMID 33925245
    .
  13. ^ Hui-Ling Ma; Xiu-Ping Yang; Ying Zuo (15 April 2006). "Study on Method of Decreasing Methanol in Apple Pomace Spirit". Food Science. 27 (4): 138–142.
  14. ^ from the original on 2009-10-08.
  15. .
  16. .
  17. from the original on 2005-06-29.
  18. .
  19. ^ Voet D, Voet JG, Pratt CW (2008). Fundamentals of Biochemistry: Life at the Molecular Level (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
  20. .
  21. ^ Isachenkov V (19 December 2016). "Alcohol poisoning death toll in Russian city rises to 49". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  22. ^ Associated Press (27 March 2020). "In Iran, false belief a poison fights virus kills hundreds". Associated Press. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  23. ^ "FDA Updates on Hand Sanitizers with Methanol". U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved 28 July 2020.

External links