Methanol attacks

(Refer: AK Khurana Comprehensive Ophthalmology, 6th edition, pg no.63 - 65) Methyl alcohol is metabolized very slowly and thus stays for a longer period in the bodyIt is oxidized into formic acid and formaldehyde in the tissues. These toxic agents cause edema followed by degeneration of the ganglion cells of the retina, resulting in complete blindness due to optic atrophy Methanol intoxication leads to oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, which in turn results in ganglion cell and optic nerve necrosis. Antioxidant therapy that inhibits the oxidative stress reaction is now being used as an alternative method of preventing methanol intoxication