← Explorer/Network

Mild ciguatera poisoning: Case reports with neurophysiological evaluations

Raffaella Butera, Leon D. Prockop, Michelangelo Buonocore +3 more2000Muscle & NerveJournal Article
10.1002/1097-4598(200010)23:10<1598::aid-mus20>3.0.co;2-pPubMed
GastrointestinalNeurological
Dinoflagellates/Ciguatera

Abstract

Ciguatera poisoning causes mainly gastrointestinal and neurological effects of variable severity. However, symptoms of peripheral neuropathy with paresthesias and paradoxical disturbance of thermal sensation are the hallmark. Electrophysiological studies are often normal, except in severe cases. We report four people who developed mild ciguatera poisoning after barracuda ingestion. Electrophysiological studies documented normocalcemic latent tetany. These findings are consistent with ciguatoxin's mechanism of toxicity, which involves inactivation of voltage-gated Na(+) channels and eventually increases nerve membrane excitability.

Key Biomarkers

Abnormal nerve membrane excitabilityNormocalcemic latent tetanyVoltage-gated Na+ channel inactivation

Symptom Clusters

Gastrointestinal effectsParadoxical thermal sensation disturbanceParesthesiasPeripheral neuropathy

Cited By (6)

  • Marine Algal Toxins and Public Health: Insights from Shellfish and Fish, the Main Biological VectorsMarine Drugs · 2024
  • Neurologic signs of ciguatera disease: evidence of their persistenceAmerican Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · 2007
  • Pacific-Ciguatoxin-2 and Brevetoxin-1 Induce the Sensitization of Sensory Receptors Mediating Pain and Pruritus in Sensory NeuronsMarine Drugs · 2021
  • Ciguatera poisoningPractical Neurology · 2007
  • Reversible cerebellar dysfunction associated with ciguatera fish poisoningJournal of Emergency Medicine · 2012
  • Neurotoxic marine poisoningThe Lancet Neurology · 2005

References (6)

  • Nodal swelling produced by ciguatoxin-induced selective activation of sodium channels in myelinated nerve fibers

Related Papers

  • Clinical Characteristics of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning in Martinique, French West Indies – A Case SeriesPreprints.org · 2022 · 3 shared tags
  • Chronic Ciguatera Poisoning: A Case ReportWilderness and Environmental Medicine · 2023 · 3 shared tags
  • TUBB1, TUBA4A and MAPK as Indicators of Die-Back Degenerative Central Nervous System Disease in Patients Sickened by Specific Exposure to the Interior Environment of Water- Damaged BuildingsMedical Research Archives · 2023 · 3 shared tags
  • Local and Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Fish Poisoning in FijiToxins · 2023 · 3 shared tags
  • A Case of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning in South GeorgiaCureus · 2022 · 3 shared tags
  • Effects of synthetic ciguatoxin CTX3C and 44-methylgambierone (MTX3) on voltage-gated sodium channels and their in vivo toxicity2021 · 3 shared tags
Neuroscience · 1996
  • Clinical features of ciguatera fish poisoning. A study of the disease in the US Virgin IslandsToxicon · 1982
  • Clinical observations on 3,009 cases of ciguatera (fish poisoning) in the South PacificAmerican Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · 1979
  • Identification of Caribbean ciguatoxins as the cause of an outbreak of fish poisoning among U.S. soldiers in HaitiToxicon · 1997
  • Ciguatera fish poisoning in MiamiJAMA · 1980
  • The basis of the paradoxical disturbance of temperature perception in ciguatera poisoningJournal of Toxicology Clinical Toxicology · 1993