Vincristine neuropathy: an electrophysiological and histological study.

Vincristine is an alkaloid derived from the periwinkle plant, Vinca rosea. It is a drug which is used in the treatment of acute leukaemia, lymphomas, and some other malignancies. Therapeutic doses of the drug nearly always cause peripheral neuropathy, the earliest clinical manifestations of which are paraes-thesiae in the extremities and depression of the deep tendon reflexes; other toxic side-effects are alopecia, abdominal pain, constipation, and convulsions