forearms, behavioral disturbances,
and neuritis. The most characteristic signs and symptoms
of methyl alcohol poisoning in humans are the various
visual disturbances which can occur without acidosis
although they unfortunately do not always appear. Some
of these symptoms are the following: misty vision, progressive
contraction of visual fields (vision tunneling), mist
before the eyes, blurring of vision, and obscuration
of vision.
ALCOHOLICS: CHRONIC METHANOL CONSUMPTION
Alcoholics in general, but particularly those who
consume large quantities of wine or fruit liqueur,
would seem, from the available evidence, to be the
only population thus far exposed to consistently high
levels of methanol ingestion (Table 1). The high ethanol/methanol
ratio of alcoholic beverages must have a very significant
protective effect, though enzyme kinetics mandate
some constant but low level of methanol metabolism.
One could speculate that the delicate balance which
maintains this defense might be jeopardized by the
general nutritional neglect and specifically the folic
acid deficiency associated with the meager food intake
of some alcoholics. Alcoholics have a much higher
incidence of cancer and other degenerative diseases,
none of which can be attributed to ethanol alone.
The fascinating similarities linking unusual clinical
features of methanol toxicity and alcoholism are worth
noting.
Neuritis:
Chronic occupational exposure to methanol often
produces human complaints of neuritis with paresthesia,
numbing, prickling and shooting pains in the extremities.
Alcoholic polyneuropathy or multiple peripheral
neuritis21 differs symptomatically from the methanol
induced syndrome only in its first and often exclusive
affinity for legs. The unpleasant sensations of intolerable
pain associated with slight tactile stimulation is
not an uncommon anecdotal consumer complaint following
long term consumption of aspartame. In one such case
reported to me, my interpretation of an electromyogram
indicated the signs of denervation indicative of alcoholic
polyneuropathy. The individual's ischemic lactate
pyruvate curve, before and after fasting, was flat.
Less that six weeks after aspartame consumption ceased
the major symptoms subsided and repetition of these
tests produced normal responses, although the individual
still experienced intermittent pain.
Pancreatitis:
Methanol is one of the few etiologic factors associated
with acute pancreatic inflammation. Microscopic findings
of pancreatic necrosis on autopsy have been reported
after acute oral methanol poisoning. In fact, pancreatic
injury probably...
