When you purchase through link on our site , we may earn an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it work .
A young man who started turn a loss his vision and even all of a sudden became color blind turn out to have an strange cause for the problems : thallium poisoning .
Thalliumis a metal that can be absorbed through a person ’s skin and can lead to neurological problems . It does so because it takes the position of the alike chemical atomic number 19 in a number of processes in the body , particularly in the nervous system . Thallium poisoning can cause heart pain in the ass , confusion and going of muscleman mastery , and the wakeless metal can be fateful in in high spirits doses , grant to the story of the young man ’s character .
But Tl is not include in received exam for heavy metals in the body , and it was n’t until the Dr. watch that the man worked in a chemistry laboratory that they thought to test for the element . [ In photograph : The Power of Poison Through Time ]
The patient " had all the hallmark signs " of thallium poisoning , say Dr. Enchun Liu , a ophthalmologist at the Retina Institute in St. Louis , Missouri , who regale the man for his sight problems and was the confidential information source of the subject reputation , published Sept. 24 in JAMA Ophthalmology .
" This was the first case of atomic number 81 poisoning I ’ve ever seen , " Liu told Live Science . " As far as I experience , it is a pretty rare term . "
The world first conk to the hand brake room in December 2014 because of stomach bother , nausea and looseness of the bowels , Liu tell . Healthcare workers there gave the man endovenous fluids , diagnosed him with intestinal flu ( also sleep with as stomach flu ) and sent him home , Liu said .
stomach flu symptoms are the first phase angle of thallium poisoning , and occur within 8 to 12 hours of vulnerability . Liu say he does n’t fault the ER for diagnose the military personnel with stomach flu , " because that would be a logical conclusion at that point . "
However , after that diagnosis , in January 2015 , the humanity returned to the hospital with regurgitation , diarrhea , disarray andshort - term computer memory loss , according to the report . His hair was fall out , and he had a rash across his face . The Doctor ran mental test , and predominate out conditions such as syphilis andtick - borne disease , Liu say .
Confusion and unretentive - term memory loss are part of the second phase of Tl poisoning , and haircloth loss and facial blizzard occur in the third phase , Liu said . One of the enzyme that Tl affects is peculiarly important in nerve conductivity , he say . " That ’s why the neurological system is unremarkably the firmly hit , " he said .
It was n’t until the patient role ’s 10th twenty-four hour period in the infirmary that a brain doctor think to check the individual ’s Tl levels , given that the vernal man work in a chemistry lab , Liu order .
" Thallium intoxication has a multitude of symptoms that bear upon many different electronic organ systems and sometimes could be easy pretermit " when a patient role first come in , Liu tell apart Live Science .
In addition , standard piddle tests forheavy metalsinclude only arsenic , mercury and jumper cable , and this may have delayed diagnosing , he said .
The patient was deal with a dyestuff called Prussian blue , which was originally develop for use in blusher and ink , Liu enjoin . In the digestive tract , the dye can get rid of certain metals by binding to them , which allows for the metallic element to be eliminated in the stool , he said .
After one hebdomad of Prussian blue therapy , the patient ’s blood thallium levels had miss from over 100 micrograms per liter down to 25 micrograms per liter ( the secure terminal point is 5 mcg per litre ) , according to the case theme .
" Most of the symptom amend once [ the ] atomic number 81 is excrete from the physical structure , but residual permanent nerve damage does occur , " Liu said . In the patient ’s case , the nerve price causing vision loss andcolor blindnesswas what led him to Liu ’s clinic in February of this yr , after he was regale for thallium poisoning and fire from the hospital .
Liu last see the young man in May of this year . While the affected role ’s pilus had grown back by that full stop , he still had some damage to his vision , which is belike lasting , Liu said . The world ’s recent blood atomic number 81 point was zero , Liu aver .
Still , one closed book remains : exactly how the immature gentleman was exposed to thallium in his lab .
grant to the case report , " no other pupil or faculty were affected , and the thallium was sealed without grounds of meddling . "
