[Psychodiagnosis in the assessment of the neurotoxic effects of harmful chemicals].
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Carbon Disulfide↗
Biomedical subjects
A Seeber
Publications and source records attributed to A Seeber.
Neurobehavioral toxicity of long-term exposure to tetrachloroethylene.
One hundred and one employees of dry cleaning shops exposed to tetrachloroethylene (time weighted average 205 mg/m3) and 84 employees of departmental stores and hotels were compared from the results of a psychological examination. Age, gender, the daily consumption of alcohol and the intellectual level were taken into consideration analysing the effects of tetrachloroethylene. Perceptual speed, digit reproduction as a memory test, the digit symbol test as a substitution task and variables of a choice reaction test as well as a cancellation test differed significantly between the controls on one hand, and the groups of low and high exposure on the other. But, the differences between the exposure groups were not significant. There was no effect of alcohol on the exposure-related group differences. By means of discriminant analyses the diagnostic effectiveness of the biochemical, neurological and psychological methods were compared to classify the subjects into exposure groups. The highest rate of correct classifications was performed by the multidisciplinary combination of approaches.
Alcohol Drinking↗
Neurobehavioral effects of a long-term exposure to tetraalkyllead.
Employees of a factory producing antiknock additives for gasoline were examined psychologically after an exposure of an average of 14 years. A neurobehavioral symptom questionnaire, tests of single and choice reaction time, a cancellation task and a digit symbol test were the neurobehavioral variables. Total lead in urine and trimethyllead in urine showed different patterns of correlation with the neurobehavioral measures. Intellectual abilities (logical reasoning), age, and job years were controlled by partial correlation statistics as possible confounders. Referring to the low level of 21 micrograms lead per 100 ml blood and regarding the dose-response relations reported in the literature, the results support the hypothesis of a special neurotoxicity of the alkyllead compounds.
Adult↗
Psychological effects upon exposure to polyhalogenated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans.
Thirty workers who had been exposed to combustion products for several years due to testing of flame retarding qualities of building materials and 30 controls from the same facility were investigated. Concentrations found in samples taken from different places of the facility were up to 14,660 microg/kg for polybrominated dibenzofurans and up to 67.1 microg/kg for polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs). Physical examination, routine laboratory parameters, and blood fat concentrations of PCDDs and PCDFs revealed normal findings. Neurotoxic symptoms showed a weak tendency of overrepresentation among the exposed workers. The frequency of neurobehavioural symptoms increased significantly with trait anxiety independent of exposure to combustion products.
Adult↗
In search of dose-response relationships of solvent mixtures to neurobehavioural effects in paint manufacturing and painters.
Four exposure indices for the evaluation of mixtures of solvents are outlined. The hygienic effect is a relative measure depending on the limit values of the single compounds of the mixture. The cumulative lifetime exposure (CE) and the lifetime-weighted average exposure (LWAE) are approaches based on measurements of total hydrocarbons at workplaces in different time periods. Estimations of litres of solvents used per day years (l/d years) are necessary if air monitoring is not available. Five studies on neurobehavioural effects due to solvent mixtures in paint manufacturing are compared as example for dose-response relations. The best prediction of neurobehavioural dose-response relations seems to be possible using CE and LWAE for total hydrocarbon as the exposure index. Moreover, four studies on neurobehavioural effects due to solvent mixtures in paints and glues are compared. These studies indicate that the index l/d years is helpful in predicting neurobehavioural deficits. Of numerous neurobehavioural tests, the test symbol digit substitution shows the most significant dose-response relations in the studies. For symptom questionnaires these relations appear only occasionally. In principle, associations between doses of solvent mixtures in paints and neurobehavioural effects are reproducible to a limited extent.
Behavior↗
High dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in dermatomyositis: clinical responses and effect on sIL-2R levels.
An open study was conducted to identify and investigate dermatomyositis patients who benefit from IVIG treatment, based on dermatological criteria, myositis-related symptoms and immune/inflammatory parameters. 19 patients (16 females and three males, ages 31-84) suffered from dermatomyositis, and 4/19 patients had paraneoplastic dermatomyositis. We monitored the disease activity by documenting the clinical symptoms, recording muscle-related parameters (electromyography, serum creatine kinase, histopathology), and by determining circulating autoantibodies and serum levels of IL-6, sIL-2R, sTNF-a-R, sICAM-1, and sCD8. 7/19 patients responded to IVIG. They had severe skin but only moderate muscle involvement, no autoantibodies, and no malignancy. IVIG-nonresponders had severe skin and muscle disease, concomitant with autoantibodies and/or malignancy. sIL-2R levels were initially elevated in all patients but reverted to normal in IVIG-responders only. Creatine kinase-levels and other parameters did not correlate with disease activity and/or treatment response. IVIG is effective in selected dermatomyositis patients. sIL-2R serum levels appear to be useful predictors of IVIG-induced treatment response and disease activity.
Adult↗
Repeated neurobehavioral investigations in workers exposed to mercury in a chloralkali plant.
Mercury exposed workers of a chloralkali electrolysis plant were investigated with neurobehavioral methods. At the beginning of the investigation an average exposure of 12 years was stated. Four periods of investigations were carried out over the course of 7 years. A low exposed group (n = 34-50, 21-26 micrograms Hg/l Urine) and a high exposed group (n = 14-21, 111-152 micrograms/l Urine) were defined for each of the time periods using 53 micrograms/l Urine as discriminating level. Controls (n = 37-43) were recruited from non-exposed departments of the factory. Age, verbal intelligence and gender were controlled statistically to reduce potential confounding. Symptoms and personality traits did not covary significantly with the exposure. Finger dexterity, tapping, and aiming were variables out of 13 performance measurements, which showed repeatedly a lower level of performance corresponding with increasing current exposure. However, dose-response relations could not be demonstrated by partial correlations to the concentration of mercury in Urine. Subgroups of 30 controls, 37 low exposed and 14 high exposed workers were examined in a follow-up study with repeated measurements. Significant exposure effects were shown for finger dexterity and aiming.
Adult↗
Neurobehavioral effects of solvents and circadian rhythms.
Two studies on the combined neurobehavioral effects of shiftwork and solvent exposure were performed: two-shift work/mixed solvent exposure and three-shift work/single solvent exposure (acetone). Repeated measurements of exposure, body temperature, well-being, complaints, and performance were taken during each shift and during several shift cycles. The air concentrations of the solvent mixture were clearly below and of acetone were near the occupational exposure limit values. Both the exposure quality and the circadian factor contributed to the stronger adverse effects under the three-shift condition. The results support the view that exposure effects should be studied and evaluated in relation to shift and time.
Adult↗
Association of biochemical and subjective indicators of drinking habits with performance on different neurobehavioral tasks.
The present paper outlines the association of biochemical and subjective indicators of alcohol consumption. Due to its relevance as a potential confounding variable in occupational neurotoxicology, both sources of information about drinking habits were related to neurobehavioral test performance. A sample of 308 rotogravure printers and control subjects from a cross-sectional longitudinal study in various German printing plants was studied. Duration of employment was 4 months to 44 years (mean = 14.9, sd = 9.67). Mean age was 38.4 years (range 21 - 60). From venous blood samples three parameters considered to be sensitive for increased consumption of alcohol were used. They were carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), and mean cell volume (MCV). During the medical interview subjects with any chronic liver disease were identified and excluded from data analysis. Additionally, information about weekly consumption of alcohol was assessed and transformed to grams per day (g/d) values. Neurobehavioral testing included simple reaction time (SPES version), switching attention, symbol digit substitution, and digit span (EURONEST version). Additionally, a questionnaire of neurotoxic complaints was administrated. Other covariates, i.e. verbal ability, history of solvent exposure, and age were controlled. GGT and CDT were elevated in 10.5% and 6.6% of the population. 3.5% of the subjects reported daily consumption higher than 60 gram. There were positive correlations of CDT and GGT with the subjective indicator of drinking habits. The magnitude of these relationships were low, but the associations were significant. MCV was not correlated with subjective reports of drinking habits, but it showed convergent correlations with CDT and GGT. Comparison of these two parameters with performance on neurobehavioral tasks yielded only one negative association, i.e. between the memory-loaded tasks factor and GGT. CDT and subjective estimation of alcohol consumption were not related to any cognitive function tested in this study. Especially, the digits-backward task was negatively correlated with increased GGT.
Adult↗