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The benzene-based compound 2,4-dinitrophenol was developed in the late 19th century, and was used during World War I for manufacture of explosives.1 A number of cases of dinitrophenol poisoning were noted in French munitions plant workers. Acute intoxication caused hyperpyrexia, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea; symptoms of subacute exposure included weight loss. Several workers died.1 The weight-loss observation led to widespread clinical use in the United States in the 1930s as an anti-obesity drug, until reports of adverse effects prompted withdrawal from the consumer market in 1938 under pressure from the Food and Drug Administration. Dinitrophenol has continued to be available for industrial uses, including production of dyes, wood preservatives, and pesticides.
Footnotes
Study funding: Dr. Singer received support from the North and Central Texas Clinical and Translational Science Initiative (NIH KL2RR024983, Milton Packer, MD, principal investigator).
Author contributions: Dr. Singer, Dr. Phillips: study concept and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. Dr. Singer: study supervision.
Disclosure: The authors report no disclosures relevant to the manuscript. Go to Neurology.org for full disclosures.
- Received May 29, 2012.
- Accepted in final form October 9, 2012.
- © 2013 American Academy of Neurology
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