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A 聽has linked the potent opiod聽fentanyl to amnesia.聽

A case report by a聽聽neuropsychologist suggests that聽fentanyl 鈥� alone, or in combination with stimulants 鈥� may put substance users at further risk, whether they take it knowingly or not, by causing amnesia.

Fentanyl is an especially potent synthetic opioid. Between 50 and 100 times stronger than morphine, it puts users at an increased risk of overdose.

Buying opioids on the street 鈥渋sn鈥檛 like buying Tylenol鈥�, according to Dr聽Marc聽Haut, chair of the WVU聽School of Medicine鈥檚聽Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know what you鈥檙e buying. People may think they鈥檙e buying something that鈥檚 just an opiate, but it may have fentanyl in it, and it may have cocaine.鈥�

Amnesia can have serious implications for those in recovery. Benefiting from a treatment program requires a functioning memory.

鈥淢ost people are thinking about fentanyl because of overdose deaths,鈥� Haut said. 鈥淏ut we also need to be thinking about overdose survivors.鈥�

Haut鈥檚 case report is the first to link fentanyl use with a particular form of amnesia that comes on suddenly and produces distinctive MRI results.

Haut鈥檚 collaborator, Jed Barash聽鈥� medical director at in Burlington, Massachusetts 鈥� previously detected a cluster of this form of amnesia among substance users in Massachusetts. Now Haut, Baresh and Haut鈥檚 WVU colleagues have used laboratory testing and neuroimaging to support the theory that fentanyl use may trigger amnesia in some individuals.

Further study will be required to confirm the fentanyl鈥揳mnesia link in a larger population and pinpoint the mechanisms behind it. The amnesia鈥檚 typical duration and frequency are also unknown.

鈥淎 lot of people who have these overdoses are marginalised in society, so they may be pretty impaired, but we just don鈥檛 have a sense of it,鈥� Haut said. 鈥淚f this is one in 50 cases, that鈥檚 one thing. If it鈥檚 one in 10, then it鈥檚 more meaningful. However, even one in 50 cases would be a lot, given how many overdoses are still occurring in the US.鈥�

The report鈥檚聽findings are published in the current issue of the聽.

Dr Marc Haut. 漏West Virginia University

Top image credit: 漏stock.adobe.com/au/anankkml