Toxic encephalopathy, vision loss, and memory disorder caused by acute acrylamide exposure

Abstract

Acrylamide (ACR) is an irritant that can cause damage to the eyes, skin, and nervous and reproductive systems. This study aims to illustrate a case of central nervous system and optic nerve damage from exposure to ACR. In this case, a 49-year-old male material handler was accidentally splashed with ACR solution on both of his upper limbs. Consequently, he was admitted to the hospital with toxic encephalopathy, characterized by cerebellar ataxia and slurred speech. Magnetic resonance imaging scan, a brain computed tomography scan blood sample analyses, optic coherence tomography, electroneuromyogram, and visual evoked potentials examination were performed. After 20 days of receiving symptomatic support treatment, the patient continued to experience disturbances in consciousness. Then, he developed vision loss, memory disorders, and symptoms of peripheral neuropathy such as skin peeling, extremity weakness, and absent tendon reflexes. This case report underscores the severe consequences of acute dermal exposure to high concentrations of ACR, resulting in toxic encephalopathy, visual impairment, and memory disorders, which will contribute to a broader understanding of ACR toxicity.

Keywords:

• Acrylamide intoxication
• dermal absorption
• dermal exposure
• neurotoxicity
• toxic encephalopathy
• vision disturbance

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Ethics approval

Ethics approval was granted by Hunan Normal University Human Research and Ethics Committee (approval no.: 2022-541). Written informed consent was obtained from the patients for publication of this case report.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2021JJ40374 and 2021JJ30752); the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82103887) and the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars of Hunan Province (2023JJ20032).