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 On Dec, 04, 2016  4,027 people reported to have side effects when taking Oncovin.  Among them, 8 people (0.2%) have Hallucination

Vincristine (brand name, Oncovin), formally known as leurocristine, sometimes abbreviated "VCR", is a vinca alkaloid from the Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar periwinkle), formerly Vinca rosea and hence its name.

Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar Periwinkle) is a species of Catharanthus native and endemic to Madagascar. Synonyms include Vinca rosea (the basionym), Ammocallis rosea, and Lochnera rosea; other English names occasionally used include Cape Periwinkle, Rose Periwinkle, Rosy Periwinkle, and "Old-maid".

In the wild, it is an endangered plant; the main cause of decline is habitat destruction by slash and burn agriculture It is also however widely cultivated and is naturalised in subtropical and tropical areas of the world.  The species has long been cultivated for herbal medicine and as an ornamental plant. In traditional Chinese medicine, extracts from it have been used to treat numerous diseases, including Hodgkin's disease. 

Having been used as a folk remedy for centuries, studies in the 1950s revealed that C. roseus contained 70 alkaloids, many of which were biologically active. While initial studies for its use in diabetes mellitus were disappointing, the discovery that it caused myelosuppression (decreased activity of the bone marrow) led to its study in mice with leukemia, whose lifespan was prolonged by the use of a vinca preparation. Vincristine was approved by the FDA in 1963.

Vincristine is a mitotic inhibitor, and is delivered via intravenous infusion for use in various types of chemotherapy regimens. Its main uses are in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and in treatment for nephroblastoma (Wilms tumor, a kidney tumor most common in young children). It is also used to induce remission with Dexamethasone and L-Asparaginase. It is used in combination with prednisone to treat childhood leukemia.

The main side-effects of vincristine are peripheral neuropathy, hyponatremia, constipation, and hair loss.  Peripheral neuropathy can be severe, and hence a reason to avoid, reduce, or stop the use of vincristine.

Accidental injection of vinca alkaloids into the spinal canal (intrathecal administration) is highly dangerous, with a mortality rate approaching 100 percent. The medical literature documents cases of ascending paralysis due to massive encephalopathy and spinal nerve demyelination, accompanied by intractable pain, almost uniformly leading to death. A significant series of inadvertent intrathecal vincristine administrations occurred in China in 2007 when batches of cytarabine and methotrexate (both often used intrathecally) manufactured by the company Shanghai Hualian were found to be contaminated with vincristine.

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Visual hallucinations following treatment with vincristine - Ghosh K, Sivakumaran M, Murphy P, Chapman CS, Wood JK - Department of Haematology, Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK.

Peripheral neuropathy is a common side effect of vincristine therapy. However, side effects due to central nervous system (CNS) toxicity following intravenous administration are rare. We report two patients who developed visual hallucinations during treatment with vincristine.