Cerebral hemorrhage after the consumption of amphetamine

Cerebral hemorrhages are rare complications that occur after the consumption of amphetamine; the mortality rate is estimated at 50 %. It is assumed that cerebral hemorrhages are caused by amphetamine-induced hypertensive crises coinciding with pre-existing vascular alterations (congenital vascular malformations, vasculitis). In the present case report, a 40-year-old man, who is said to have regularly consumed hashish, heroin and speed, died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage located in the region of the basal ganglia shortly after the intravenous administration of amphetamine and heroin. In the course of the post-mortem investigation, neither vascular malformations nor vasculitis could be detected in the brain. Even if the evidence for the existence of such alterations was missing, this does not exclude their presence for certain. Other potential amphetamine-induced vascular alterations are discussed.