General description

Psychostimulants like cocaine stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, causing systemic arterial constriction and an increase in heart rate, which results in systemic hypertension. Consequently, the risk of cerebrovascular events increases, leading to aneurysmal dilation of the cerebral arteries and occasionally resulting in cerebral hemorrhage.

Due to the direct toxicity of cocaine on the cerebral white matter, known as cocaine encephalopathy, MRI shows T2WI and FLAIR hyperintensity in the globus pallidus, splenium of the corpus callosum, and cerebral white matter.