Rinsho Shinkeigaku (Clinical Neurology)

Brief Clinical Note

Sensory axonal polyneuropathy due to 2,4-dinitrophenol

Shintaro Izumoto, M.D.1), Akitoshi Taniguchi, M.D.1), Hitoshi Mochizuki, M.D., Ph.D.1), Kazutaka Shiomi, M.D., Ph.D.1) and Masamitsu Nakazato, M.D., Ph.D.1)

1)Division of Neurology, Respirology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Miyazaki University

A 24-year-old man developed subacute onset of numbness and pain in the upper and lower limbs. Physical examination demonstrated decreased pinprick sensation, but was otherwise normal. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid parameters were normal except for mild hepatic dysfunction. No data were suggestive of connective tissue disease. Nerve conduction studies demonstrated sensory neuropathy. A detailed medical interview revealed that the patient had been taking self-imported 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) for 2 months to decrease body weight. Six months after discontinuing DNP, subjective symptoms and liver dysfunction resolved completely, and the patient was diagnosed with drug-induced peripheral neuropathy and hepatopathy. There are no case reports of health risks posed by DNP in Japan, and even worldwide, cases of peripheral neuropathy due to DNP are rare. Obtaining a detailed drug history is important, as is providing information on the dangers of self-imported medicines.
Full Text of this Article in Japanese PDF (350K)

(CLINICA NEUROL, 57: 599|602, 2017)
key words: 2,4-dinitrophenol, self-imported, drug-induced peripheral neuropathy, drug-induced hepatopathy, slimming drug

(Received: 24-May-17)