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At least 433 records · Page 24Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

[Relationship between atopic factors and physical symptoms induced by gaseous formaldehyde exposure during an anatomy dissection course].

Formaldehyde (FA) is an occupational and general indoor hazard often affecting the respiratory airways. One of the main causes of multiple chemical sensitivity is gaseous FA, and it has become an important social problem in developed countries. FA concentrations in anatomy dissection classrooms are thought to be higher than under usual circumstances. The number of students developing physical symptoms during the anatomy dissection course in our university has been increasing over recent years. We planned to clarify the causes of such symptoms. Ninety-five medical students were interviewed using a questionnaire about allergic histories, physical symptoms developed during the anatomy dissection course, and symptoms related to chemical sensitivity up to three months after the course had finished. We measured total IgE, specific IgE to FA and specific IgE to house dust mites. Eighty-three percent of students had experienced symptoms, such as burning eyes, nasal discharge, sore throat, general fatigue or skin irritation during the course. Fifty percent of students had a past history of atopic disease. Fifty-eight percent of students tested positive to specific IgE to house dust mites; however, only one student, who did not complain of any symptoms during the course, tested positive to FA-IgE. Students with atopic factors (present histories of atopic diseases and higher total IgE) and/or chemical sensitivity demonstrated worse physical symptoms during the anatomy dissection course than students without such histories. In conclusion, it is suggested that gaseous FA exposure may exacerbate basic allergic symptoms, and moreover that people with chemical sensitivity demonstrated worse symptoms following gaseous FA exposure. Nevertheless, in our study we find no relationship between FA-IgE and the physical symptoms of gaseous FA exposure during or following an anatomy dissection course.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2001

[Modern illnesses from the critical viewpoint].

Psychosomatic illness as "modern diseases" are of increasing interest to the public. Environmental illnesses, for example assumed intoxication with organic solvents, multiple chemical sensitivity, sick building syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, the influence of amalgam or of electromagnetic waves and ozone are often causes of anxiety. There are many hypotheses about the origin of these diseases. Some scientists emphasize an organic basis; however, this is not generally accepted. Very often with good reason a psychological cause is supposed. Objective diagnostic criteria are not available, therefore these diagnoses may only be applied after sufficient exclusion of other known organic diseases. Mostly a psychological treatment is refused by the person affected, and a scientifically based somatic concept for the therapy does not exist. The medicolegal problems are important and often the reason for prolonged forensic confrontations.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed2001

Cacosmia in healthy workers.

Self-reported cacosmia (i.e. feeling ill from the odour of xenobiotic substances) was studied in 151 young, healthy workers, unexposed to unpleasant odours and working in food stores without air-conditioning. Almost half (46%) of the sample reported feeling ill from the smell of chemical materials. Chemical odour intolerance induced headache, itching eyes, irritated or congested nose, dry and/or sore throat, cough, dizziness, and itching or rash. Cacosmic subjects showed a slight prevalence of the female sex, and had significantly higher symptom scores, anxiety, and depression than non-cacosmic subjects. Cacosmia may be related to multiple chemical sensitivity, sick-building syndrome and psychopathology. Individual variability in odour tolerance may substantially bias epidemiological studies on indoor air quality and health.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Idiopathic environmental intolerances.

Health concerns related to the quality of the environment in offices, schools, homes, and residences have increased dramatically over the past 2 decades. One health problem frequently confronting medical practitioners and often attributed to environmental quality problems is idiopathic environmental intolerances (IEI). Formerly known as multiple chemical sensitivities, IEI is an acquired disorder characterized by adverse reactions attributed to exposure to a variety of substances under ordinary conditions. Alleged precipitants include solvents, pesticides, detergents, dusts, and fragrances. Symptoms include fatigue, malaise, headache, concentration and memory difficulties, lightheadedness, cough, hoarseness, and rhinitis without objective physical signs or consistent laboratory abnormalities. The role of the environment in precipitating these complaints continues to be controversial, and no intervention or treatment has thus far been proven to be effective. While not progressive or life threatening, IEI is often functionally disabling and very distressing to affected individuals. The investigation of IEI should involve, at a minimum, a clinical evaluation of the affected person and in most cases an environmental evaluation as well. IEI should be managed without overutilization of diagnostic tests or prescription of unnecessary environmental, occupational, or dietary restrictions.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1992

Techno-stress. A psychophysiological study of employees with VDU-associated skin complaints.

Little is known about the causes of health complaints associated with work with video display units (VDUs). The symptoms are to a large degree similar to those of "multiple chemical sensitivity." We observed 47 white-collar employees with and without VDU-associated skin complaints during a regular workday and a day of leisure. VDU workers with skin symptoms had higher levels of the stress-sensitive hormones thyroxin and prolactin compared with employees without symptoms. They also had lower levels of the anabolic hormone testosterone during work. VDU workers with skin complaints also reported more occupational mental strain. A model is proposed in which physiological signals act as unconditioned stimuli and the VDU environment as the conditioned stimuli.

Arousal↗
PubMed2004

[Medicine hypersensitivity--case report].

In this paper a case of good tolerance to benzathine benzylpenicillin, but benzylpenicillin potassium allergy in subject with history of multidrug hypersensitivity was described. The same therapeutic agent is contained in both commercial drugs and dosage formulation can cause the unpredictable adverse drug reactions (ADRs). This thesis was confirmed by positive intradermal test with the same, but negative with other commercial product of benzylpenicillin potassium. Later chromatographic analysis shows drug contaminations. Thus an exclusion of allergy to drug impurities (and additives) is necessary for correct diagnosis benzylpenicillin allergy (and any active constituent). Furthermore, allergy to drug impurities (and additives) closely resemble cross-reactions or multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome (MCSS).

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Olfactory (chemosensory) event-related potentials.

Chemosensory event-related potentials (CSERPs) have found their way into a number of fields of research where they help to determine the function of both the trigeminal and the olfactory system. The investigation of chemosensory deficits in patients with Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease is only one of the typical applications. It can be assumed that scientists involved in research on patients with multiple chemical sensitivities will also benefit from having access to objective data covering different aspects of the sense of smell.

Electrophysiology↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Neurological investigations in 23 cases of pyrethroid intoxication reported to the German Federal Health Office.

In 1993, 64 cases of chronic pyrethroid intoxication were reported to the Federal Health Office in Germany. Shortly afterwards the media spoke of thousands of cases of pyrethroid intoxication in homes. 23 of the persons reported were examined in a neurological department on an inpatient basis using clinical neurological, neuroradiological and laboratory investigations, including the examination of pyrethroid values in blood and urine. The pyrethroid exposure involved carpets, moth killers, pesticide sprays and wood preservatives. Nine of the cases presented with severe somatic or psychiatric disorders with completely different clinical diagnoses, such as pituitary tumor, radiogenic lumbosacral plexus paralysis, Guillain- Barré syndrome, spinal muscular atrophy, with no plausible relationship to exposure. Eight cases presented with multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome (MCS) and normal somatic findings. In six of the cases, a causal link between acute complaints and pyrethroid exposure could be established or not ruled out. There was, however, not a single case in which evidence for irreversible PNS or CNS lesions could be found.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Somatization and fashionable diagnoses: illness as a way of life.

The history of "nondisease" dates back, at least 4000 years, to early descriptions of hysteria. More recently somatization became a part of the official diagnostic nomenclature by creation of the DSM III category, "somatoform disorders." Somatization can serve as a rationalization for psychosocial problems or as a coping mechanism, and for some illness, becomes a way of life. One variation of somatization can be the "fashionable diagnosis", for example, fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivities, dysautonomia, and, in the past, "reactive hypoglycemia". These disorders are phenomenologically related to environmental or occupational syndromes and mass psychogenic illness. Fashionable illnesses are characterized by (i) vague, subjective multisystem complaints, (ii) a lack of objective laboratory findings, (iii) quasi-scientific explanations, (iv) overlap from one fashionable diagnosis to another, (v) symptoms consistent with depression or anxiety or both, (vi) denial of psychosocial distress or attribution of it to the illness. Fashionable diagnoses represent a heterogeneous collection of physical diseases, somatization, and anxiety or depression. They are final common symptomatic pathways for a variety of influences including environmental factors, intrapersonal distress and solutions to social problems. A fashionable diagnosis allows psychosocial distress to be comfortably hidden from both the patient and the physician, but premature labeling can also mask significant physical disease. Hysteria remains alive and well and one contemporary hiding place is fashionable illness.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The indoor air we breathe.

Increasingly recognized as a potential public health problem since the outbreak of Legionnaire's disease in Philadelphia in 1976, polluted indoor air has been associated with health problems that include asthma, sick building syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Symptoms are often nonspecific and include headache, eye and throat irritation, chest tightness and shortness of breath, and fatigue. Air-borne contaminants include commonly used chemicals, vehicular exhaust, microbial organisms, fibrous glass particles, and dust. Identified causes include defective building design and construction, aging of buildings and their ventilation systems, poor climate control, inattention to building maintenance. A major contributory factor is the explosion in the use of chemicals in building construction and furnishing materials over the past four decades. Organizational issues and psychological variables often contribute to the problem and hinder its resolution. This article describes the health problems related to poor indoor air quality and offers solutions.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

[Environmental-medical diagnosis and therapy. Hasty diagnosis of unspecified environmental syndromes should be avoided].

In the past ten years environmental medicine has virtually exploded. Major instruments for the interdisciplinary environmental-medical diagnosis are history, on-site inspection, biomonitoring and ambient monitoring. Since the definitive diagnosis of an environment-related disease usually requires a joint evaluation of toxicological, somatic and psychosomatic findings, it is recommended that cooperation with an experienced center for environment medicine should be established early on. By doing so, an inappropriate diagnosis of unspecific environment-medical symptom complexes such as, e.g., multiple chemical sensitivity may be avoided. Such "diagnoses" may result in drastic, and for the patient and his family, often stressful, consequences.

Decision Making↗
PubMed1996

Time-dependent sensitization of plasma beta-endorphin in community elderly with self-reported environmental chemical odor intolerance.

This study examined plasma beta-endorphin as a marker of the physiological stress response in community elderly who were either high (n = 15) or low (n = 15) in self-rated frequency of illness from environmental chemical odors. Individuals who report nonatopic multiple sensitivities to or intolerances for low levels of environmental chemicals also claim high rates of comorbid food sensitivities or intolerances. Subjects gave 9 AM blood samples for plasma beta-endorphin 90 min after ingesting either 1% fat cow's milk or a soy-based nondairy drink, on six different mornings in the laboratory after all-night sleep recordings. The six sessions-were divided into three sets of two successive days each, with each set [involving baseline (ad lib milk), nondairy (soy-based), and dairy diets] separated from the next by 3 weeks. In the chemically tolerant subjects, stably lower beta-endorphin levels suggested that milk may have been a physiologically less stressful beverage than was the soy drink. In contrast, the chemical odor intolerant group exhibited a) increased levels of plasma beta-endorphin averaged over the 6 days (p = .02); and b) marked fluctuations in endorphin from one laboratory day to the next (Group x Diet x Day interaction, p = .005). The findings were consistent with time-dependent, context-dependent sensitization of beta-endorphin in the chemical odor intolerant individuals.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Self-reported chemical sensitivity and wartime chemical exposures in Gulf War veterans with and without decreased global health ratings.

This cross-sectional telephone survey study assessed prevalence rates of current chemical sensitivity, frequency of chemical odor intolerance, and self-reported Persian Gulf chemical exposures among 41 randomly sampled Department of Veterans Affairs outpatients who were Persian Gulf War (PGW) and PGW-era veterans. The participants were drawn from an initial random list of 100 veterans, of whom 28 PGW and 20 era veterans had correct telephone data on file. Of those contacted, 86% of PGW veterans (24/28) and 85% of era veterans (17/20) agreed to participate. Significantly more PGW veterans with poorer global health after military service reported considering themselves now "especially sensitive to certain chemicals" (86%, 12/14) than did the PGW veterans or era veterans in stable health (both comparison groups 30%, 3/10). Among PGW veterans, the subset with worse health associated with marked increases in chemical odor intolerance since their military service had a significantly higher odds ratio for exposure to multiple chemicals, notably wartime pesticides and insect repellent, than did comparison groups. The high rate of chemical sensitivity of PGW veterans with deteriorated health is almost three times that in PGW-era veterans and in elderly primary care outpatient veterans at the same Department of Veterans Affairs medical center and in community-based civilian samples (i.e., 30%). These preliminary findings suggest the need for further study of chemical sensitivity, including tests for acquired increases in neural sensitizability to multiple low-level chemicals, in ill PGW veterans.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Time-dependent sensitization of heart rate and blood pressure over multiple laboratory sessions in elderly individuals with chemical odor intolerance.

In this study, we tested the hypothesis that low-level chemical odor intolerance (i.e., "cacosmia") is a manifestation of heightened sensitizability to environmental stimuli. We examined supine heart rate and blood pressure of elderly individuals, who were classified as either having a higher degree of chemical odor intolerance (n = 12) or a lower degree of chemical odor intolerance (n = 13), upon awakening in a sleep research laboratory on 6 different days during an 8-wk protocol. During the 2 initial wk, they consumed a customary baseline diet (including ad lib milk and other dairy products), followed by 3 wk each of nondairy-containing and dairy-containing diets in randomly assigned, counterbalanced order. Measurements were made on 3 pairs of successive days, distributed over a 6-wk period, and on which different diets were consumed. The high-intolerance group had significantly higher mean supine systolic and diastolic blood pressures than did the low-intolerance group. Although subjects consumed milk products during both the initial baseline and subsequent dairy diet periods, the high-intolerance group had significantly higher heart rates and diastolic blood pressures later in the study than at baseline, especially when they were on the dairy diet. In contrast, the cardiovascular measures of the low-intolerance group lowered on average with time. The high-intolerance subjects had an increased mean diastolic blood pressure on the second days versus the first days in the laboratory (averaged across all diets). Collectively, the data suggest that elderly individuals with a high degree of chemical odor intolerance evidence (a) increased sympathetic tone in the cardiovascular system at rest over multiple measurements; and (b) greater sensitizability and/or lesser habituation of heart rate and diastolic blood pressure over time as a function, in part, of repeated environmental stressor exposures (i.e., a novel laboratory contextual setting and/or specific dietary constituents). Consistent with a sensitization model, the findings emphasize the need for two or more identical sessions at least 24 h apart in physiological studies of individuals with a high degree of intolerance for chemical odors versus normal individuals. The results of the blood pressure observations suggest that the possibility of abnormally labile autonomic function and cognitive sequelae in individuals with a high degree of intolerance for chemical odor increases with age.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

A genetic rat model of cholinergic hypersensitivity: implications for chemical intolerance, chronic fatigue, and asthma.

The fact that only some individuals exposed to environmental chemicals develop chemical intolerance raises the possibility that genetic factors could be contributing factors. The present communication summarizes evidence from a genetic animal model of cholinergic supersensitivity that suggests that an abnormal cholinergic system could be one predisposing genetic factor. The Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) rats were established by selective breeding for increased responses to an organophosphate. It was subsequently found that these FSL rats were also more sensitive to direct-acting muscarinic agonists and had elevated muscarinic receptors compared to the selectively bred parallel group, the Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) rats, or randomly bred control rats. Increased sensitivity to cholinergic agents has also been observed in several human populations, including individuals suffering from chemical intolerance. Indeed, the FSL rats exhibit certain behavioral characteristics such as abnormal sleep, activity, and appetite that are similar to those reported in these human populations. In addition, the FSL rats have been reported to exhibit increased sensitivity to a variety of other chemical agents. Peripheral tissues, such as intestinal and airway smooth muscle, appear to be more sensitive to both cholinergic agonists and an antigen, ovalbumin. Hypothermia, a centrally mediated response, is more pronounced in the FSL rats after nicotine and alcohol, as well as agents that are selective for the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems. In some cases, the increased sensitivity has been detected in the absence of any changes in the receptors with which the drugs interact (dopamine receptors), while receptor changes have been seen in other cases (nicotine receptors). Therefore, there may be multiple mechanisms underlying the multiple chemical sensitivity-chemical intolerance of the FSL rats. An elucidation of these mechanisms may provide useful clues to those involved in chemical intolerance in humans.

Acetylcholine↗