Brain damage from solvent a permanent affliction

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Solvent sniffing really doe smelt your brain, says a physician in Edmonton's inner city.

"All of those substances that can be sniffed - they can dissolve organize material, and our bodies are made up of organic tissue," said Dr. Amy Borkent, a family physician at Edmonton's Boyle-McCauley Health Centre.

"The place that most of that happens is in the brain."

The brain is surrounded and supported by fatty material, which is most easily dissolved by solvent abuse. The symptoms of damage can resemble those of the disease of multiple sclerosis, Borkent said. It can affect sight, hearing speech or movement."

"The worst case I've seen is a person who was unable to walk or move their arms because the tissue around the spinal cord had been dissolved," she said.

Sniffers and solvent abusers can also suffer from sores resembling chemical burns around the mouth, nose, lips and down into the lungs. The effects can be even more devastating on children because their immature systems are less able to deal with the poison solvents, Borkent added.

The extent of the damage depends on the amount of solvents a person uses, the doctor said, and on the person's metabolism and how the substance is ingested.

In Edmonton, the most common abused substance is paint and lacquer thinner because it can be bought cheaply anywhere with no questions asked. A few people use glue but gasoline is not popular in the city, Borkent said, probably because it is more expensive than paint thinner and hard to buy in small quantities.

The fact solvents are more available also means more children and teens use them, Borkent added. Alcohol. and other drugs can be harder for youngsters to get, although many teens trade their solvent abuse for alcohol and street drugs as they mature.

But no matter what the substance used, the effects are the same.

The first symptoms of damage caused by solvent abuse are normal functions are impaired. This could include forgetfulness, a hard time understanding things, and paralysis and numbness of arms, hands, feet or legs. If it continues, it can leave the person in a vegetable-like state.

While the effects are devastating, people can recover the function of their limbs, almost fully, from the damage if they give up the solvent abuse.

"It is a reversible thing - that's the good news," she said. "It can take months or years, but most of the movement can return."

Brain function, however, never returns to normal.

"Once you damage grey cells in your head, you don't ever get those back."