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Volatile Substance Abuse: A Review of Possible Long-Term Neurological, Intellectual and Psychiatric Sequelae

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Maria A. Ron
Maria A. Ron*
Affiliation:
The National Hospitals for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG
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Abstract

The possibility that chronic abuse of volatile substances can cause permanent neurological, psychiatric, and intellectual sequelae is critically reviewed. Toluene, present in the commonly used adhesives, is most often implicated in ‘glue sniffing’; this review focuses on its potential long-term effects. Many criticisms—particularly poor matching of control samples and inability to distinguish between acute and chronic effects—can be levelled at the available studies, while no adequate follow-up studies have been performed. In the light of present knowledge, the possibility that permanent structural brain damage, with accompanying psychiatric manifestations, results from solvent abuse remains inconclusive.

Type
Review Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 148 , Issue 3 , March 1986 , pp. 235 - 246
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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