Open AccessChronic Occupational Exposure to Organic Solvents and Magnetic Resonance Signal Changes in the Brain White Matter —A Case Report—
Author(s) -
Kamijima Michihiro,
Shibata Eiji,
Tanaka Hisashi,
Ichihara Gaku,
Takeuchi Yasuhiro
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of occupational health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 1348-9585
DOI - 10.1539/joh.42.47
Subject(s) - medical school , occupational exposure , environmental medicine , medicine , medical education , library science , family medicine , public health , environmental health , nursing , computer science
Chronic toxic effects of organic solvents on the central nervous system (CNS) is one of the major concerns for exposed workers. Although the World Health Organization has proposed diagnostic criteria, mainly focusing on psychological evaluation 1) , for solventinduced chronic toxic encephalopathy, definite diagnosis of the disease be can seldom made in cases of occupational exposure, given the non-specificity of signs and symptoms and difficulties in defining the exposure. On the other hand, it is generally easier to establish the association between exposure and clinical findings in solvent sniffers because of much more intensive exposure to relatively limited kinds of solvents compared to occupational cases. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been validated as a useful measure to assess irreversible CNS injury caused primarily by toluene 2–4) , but there have been few reports on MRI findings in patients suffering from chronic solvent intoxication resulting from occupational exposure . Here we report on a patient who had been exposed to organic solvents during his work, developed dysfunction of the CNS, and whose MRI findings were comparable to those of sniffing cases.