Are deficits in the equilibrium system relevant to the clinical investigation of solvent-induced neurotoxicity?

OBJECTIVES

The diagnosis of solvent-induced chronic toxic encephalopathy is commonly based on case histories of exposure to solvents, symptoms, and deficits on psychometric tests. It has previously been demonstrated that long-term solvent-exposed workers have disturbances of the equilibrium system. The correlation between these disturbances and the diagnosis of chronic toxic encephalopathy has been analyzed in the present study.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Sixty men, consecutively admitted due to the suspicion of this syndrome, were investigated and classified into 3 groups--solvent-induced chronic toxic encephalopathy, incipient chronic toxic encephalopathy and nonchronic toxic encephalopathy. They were all examined using an otoneurological test battery, including analysis of saccades, smooth pursuit, visual suppression of the vestibular ocular reflex, and dynamic posturography.

RESULTS

Compared with healthy referents several of the subjects, even in the nonchronic toxic encephalopathy group, showed a reduced visual suppression ability, a prolonged latency of saccades, and pathological posturographic results. Some otoneurological tests correlated with the duration of exposure and the results of psychometric tests representing memory and perceptual skills. Nevertheless, there was no significant group correlation between the otoneurological findings and the diagnosis of chronic toxic encephalopathy.

CONCLUSION

Disturbances revealed by an otoneurological investigation have so far not been considered in the diagnosis of chronic toxic encephalopathy. Our results indicate that an otoneurological test battery adds worthwhile information about lesions within the brainstem-cerebellar complex not revealed by a psychometric investigation.

Incidence of neoplasms in ages 0-19 y in parts of Sweden with high 137Cs fallout after the Chernobyl accident

The incidence of neoplasms in childhood and adolescence in northern and central Sweden before and after the radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident was investigated in an ecologic study, 1978 to 1992. The study included all parishes in the six most contaminated counties classified after aerial mapping of ground radiation from 137Cs and investigated 746 cases of neoplasms in ages 0-19 y, diagnosed in the six counties. Incidence and relative risks of neoplasms were compared in areas with high, intermediate, and low contamination after versus before the Chernobyl accident in 1986. A continuous increase of brain tumor incidence in the ages 0-19 y during the period 1978-92 without clear relationship to the Chernobyl fallout was discovered. No clear relationship between the incidence of brain tumor and the exposure to varying levels of radiation from 137Cs was apparent. A somewhat decreased relative risk of acute lymphatic leukemia appeared in areas with increased exposure. Other neoplasms showed no changes in incidence over time or with regard to exposure. Until now, there is no indication that the Chernobyl accident has affected the incidence of childhood and adolescence neoplasms in Sweden, but it is still too early for any final conclusion about the effect of this event.