Functional outcomes after home-based rehabilitation for heroin-induced spongiform leukoencephalopathy.

A 22-year-old man with a 2-year history of heroin vapor inhalation developed spongiform leukoencephalopathy and underwent clinical and home-based rehabilitative treatments. Activities of daily living were measured using the Functional Independence Measure at discharge and at 6, 12, and 24 months after discharge. His neurological symptoms gradually disappeared with rehabilitative treatment, and the functional scale scores increased from 55 on admission to 105 at 24 months after discharge. These results suggest that home-based rehabilitation was effective in ameliorating the pathology and improving activities of daily living in this patient with heroin-induced spongiform leukoencephalopathy.