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Organophosphate-induced delayed neuropathy (OPIDN), also called
organophosphate-induced delayed polyneuropathy (OPIDP), is a neuropathy
caused by killing of neurons in the central nervous system, especially
in the spinal cord, as a result of acute or chronic organophosphate
poisoning. A striking example of OPIDN occurred during the 1930s
Prohibition Era when thousands of men in the American South and Midwest
developed arm and leg weakness and pain after drinking a "medicinal"
alcohol substitute. The drink, called "Ginger Jake," contained an
adulterated Jamaican ginger extract containing tri-ortho-cresyl
phosphate (TOCP) which resulted in partially reversible neurologic
damage. The damage resulted in the limping "Jake Leg" or "Jake Walk"
which were terms frequently used in the blues music of the period.
