Effective Antidote for Methanol Poisoning

A study involving 11 patients diagnosed with methanol poisoning has demonstrated that fomepizole (Antizol) injection is an effective treatment with no adverse side effects. The results were reported in the February 8 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

The study revealed no changes in mental status, hepatotoxicity, or hypoglycemia. Nine of the patients survived while the two patients who died had anoxic brain injury present at the time of enrollment. Seven patients presented with visual abnormalities but these were not detectable at the end of the trial. Antizol was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of methanol poisoning or suspected ingestion in December 2000, having been cleared three years earlier for the treatment of ethylene glycol poisoning or suspected ingestion.

Methanol is a common toxic chemical found in many household substances such as windshield-wiper fluid and cleaning solutions. Methanol poisoning can cause severe morbidity, including blindness or death. Antizol was developed by Orphan Medical, Inc. (Minneapolis, MN, USA), a company dedicated to marketing products of high medical value that address inadequately treated or uncommon diseases.



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