Abstract

Cocaine and heroin-related basal ganglia lesions are a rare reported complication of isolated cocaine or heroin abuse. We report the case of a 40-year old man with a history of chronic cocaine and heroin abuse who presented with dysarthria and right-sided weakness. Neuroimaging demonstrated bilateral symmetrical basal ganglia hyperintensities, which showed diffusion restriction, an initial diagnosis of subacute ischemia or toxic-hypoxic lesions of the basal ganglia were suspected. During the course of several days, the patient’s neurological deficits improved significantly.