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A 67-year-old woman with lymphoma presented with a neuromyopathy following "laetrile" (amygdalin) treatment. She had significant elevation of blood and urinary thiocyanate and cyanide levels. Sural nerve biopsy specimen revealed a mixed pattern of demyelination and axonal degeneration, the latter being prominent. Gastrocnemius muscle biopsy specimen showed histochemically a mixed pattern of denervation and myopathy with Type II atrophy. It is concluded that cyanide toxicity secondary to laetrile therapy and nutritional deficiency caused the neuromyopathy, as the changes in peripheral nerve are similar to changes described in ataxic polyneuropathy occurring in Nigeria attributed to high cyanide content in the diet and nutritional deficiency. Although this patient received vincristine initially, the development of the neuromyopathy had no temporal relationship to its administration. The clinical profile, as well as peripheral nerve and muscle changes were not similar to either vincristine neuromyopathy or neuromyopathy due to paraneoplastic manifestation of lymphoma. Clinical improvement following discontinuation of "laetrile" by the patient further supports the toxic etiologic results for the neuromyopathy in this patient.
U P Kalyanaraman, and
K Kalyanaraman, and
S A Cullinan, and
J M McLean
July 1978,
Kansas statutes annotated : duly arranged, numbered, annotated, and indexed with histories, notes, and references as required by law. Kansas,
U P Kalyanaraman, and
K Kalyanaraman, and
S A Cullinan, and
J M McLean
January 1978,
New Jersey statutes annotated : Permanent ed. Laws of a general and permanent nature under arrangement of Revised statutes, 1937, including laws of the 163rd Legislature, 1939; with annotations from cases construing or applying the laws...,
U P Kalyanaraman, and
K Kalyanaraman, and
S A Cullinan, and
J M McLean
December 1980,
Veterinary and human toxicology,
U P Kalyanaraman, and
K Kalyanaraman, and
S A Cullinan, and
J M McLean
February 1980,
Biochemical pharmacology,
U P Kalyanaraman, and
K Kalyanaraman, and
S A Cullinan, and
J M McLean
January 1977,
Indiana code : comprising all laws of a general and permanent nature including statutes enacted through the 1982 regular session of the Indiana General Assembly. Indiana,
U P Kalyanaraman, and
K Kalyanaraman, and
S A Cullinan, and
J M McLean
June 1980,
JAMA,
U P Kalyanaraman, and
K Kalyanaraman, and
S A Cullinan, and
J M McLean
November 1979,
JAMA,
U P Kalyanaraman, and
K Kalyanaraman, and
S A Cullinan, and
J M McLean
August 1977,
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association,
U P Kalyanaraman, and
K Kalyanaraman, and
S A Cullinan, and
J M McLean
January 1978,
Cancer treatment reports,
U P Kalyanaraman, and
K Kalyanaraman, and
S A Cullinan, and
J M McLean
January 2022,
Prehospital emergency care,
