We report a 14-year-old girl with an unusual pattern of leukoencephalopathy after intentional intoxication with morphine
sulphate tablets. Toxicological analysis showed exceedingly high levels of morphine and its metabolites. MRI disclosed a leukoencephalopathy
with high signal from the centrum semiovale, corpus callosum and cerebellar white matter on T2-weighted images. These findings
could be only partially explained by a hypoxic-ischaemic event; neurotoxic effects must be considered in this atypical leukoencephalopathy.
Key words Morphine sulphate intoxication - Leukoencephalopathy - Neurotoxicity - Magnetic resonance imaging
Received: 3 August 1999 Accepted: 3 April 2000