A Fatal Intracerebral Hemorrhage due to Chronic Methamphetamine Use

Abstract

Methamphetamine is a strong central nervous system stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and is a potent hypertensive agent, and surges in blood pressure may be responsible for the occurrence of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage [1]. Furthermore, long-term drug use can gradually induce harmful effects in tissues and organs and can exacerbate some pre-existing diseases. Chronic methamphetamine use can induce various cardiovascular pathologies such as arteriosclerosis and morphological alterations of the heart, resulting finally in death. The incidence of methamphetamine abuse is growing, especially in younger age groups, and intracerebral hemorrhage in young people secondary to methamphetamine use has been increasingly reported [2]. Blood concentrations are commonly used to diagnose acute toxicity of a drug but are limited for determining the history of drug exposure or chronic toxicity. However, drugs in hair are Korean J Leg Med 2018;42:98-101 https://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2018.42.3.98