Pubdate: Sat, 20 Nov 1999 Source: New Scientist (UK) Copyright: New Scientist, RBI Limited 1999 Contact: http://www.newscientist.com/ Page: 12 Author: Alsion Motluk WHY YOU NEED HEROIN LIKE A HOLE IN THE HEAD CHASING the dragon-the practice of inhaling heroin fumes-can cause spongy holes in the brain, according to neurologists in New York. Dragon chasers heat up their heroin then inhale the fumes through a straw made of aluminium foil. The method has become popular as it avoids the risk of HIV infection from injecting the drug with contaminated syringes. But sometimes the practice can seriously damage the brain, says Arnold Kriegstein of Columbia University. He and his colleagues have treated three people who showed brain damage after taking the drug. The worst affected was a 21-year-old woman who had been chasing the dragon for six months. When Kriegstein saw her, she could no longer speak or sit up. The woman's condition continued to worsen even after she had quit the drug. A magnetic resonance imaging scan revealed spongy holes in her brain's white matter, a condition called progressive spongiform leukoencephalopathy. Worst hit was the cerebellum, a part of the brain at the back of the head that deals with fine motor skills. The damage also spread forwards. It's a distinctive pattern," says Kriegstein. Kriegstein thinks something mixed with the heroin or in the aluminium foil might have been to blame. The pattern of damage in the brain is strikingly similar to that caused by triethyltin poisoning, he says. But after analysing the aluminium foil that was used in these cases, he decided it couldn't be responsible. "The amounts of tin seemed too low." - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea