Multiple Chemical Sensitivity - The End of Controversy

May God protect these brave scientists from the ravages of the MCS
fake skeptics.

http://ilenarose.blogspot.com
Health Lover


Written by Dr. Martin Pall/Matthew Hogg
Wednesday, 17 October 2007

http://www.ei-resource.org/articles/...f-controversy/

Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), where people report being
exquisitely sensitive to a wide range of organic chemicals, is almost
always described as being "controversial." The main source of this
supposed controversy is that there has been no plausible physiological
mechanism for MCS and consequently, it was difficult to interpret the
puzzling reported features of this condition. As discussed below, this
is no longer true and consequently the main source of such controversy
has been laid to rest. There still are important issues such as how it
should be diagnosed and treated and these may also be allayed by
further studies of the mechanism discussed below.

The descriptions of MCS made by a several different research groups
are remarkably consistent. MCS sufferers report being hypersensitive
to a wide variety of hydrophobic organic solvents, including gasoline
vapor, perfume, diesel or jet engine exhaust, new or remodeled
buildings where building materials or carpeting has outgassed various
solvents, vapors associated with copy machines, many solvents used in
industrial settings, cleaning materials and cigarette and other smoke.
Each of these is known to have volatile hydrophobic organic compounds
as a prominent part of its composition. The symptoms of MCS sufferers
report having on such solvent exposure include multiorgan pain
typically including headache, muscle pain and joint pain, dizziness,
cognitive dysfunction including confusion, lack of memory, and lack of
concentration. These symptoms are often accompanied by some of a wide
range of more variable symptoms. The major symptoms reported on
chemical exposure in MCS are strikingly similar to the chronic
symptoms in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and may be explained by
mechanisms previously proposed for the CFS symptoms

(1). Perhaps the best source of information on the properties and
science of MCS is the Ashford and Miller book

(2). Many individual accounts of MCS victims have been presented in an
interesting book edited by Johnson

(3). Most MCS sufferers trace their sensitivity to chemicals to a
chemical exposure at a particular time in their life, often a single,
high level exposure to organic solvents or to certain pesticides,
notably organophosphates or carbamates.

Some MCS cases are traced to a time period where the person lived or
worked in a particular new or newly remodeled building ("sick building
syndrome") where the outgassing of the organic solvents may have had a
role in inducing MCS. One of the most interesting examples of MCS/sick
building syndrome occured about 15 years ago when the U. S.
Environmental Protection Agency remodeled its headquarters and some
200 of its employees became chemically sensitive. The obvious
interpretation of this pattern of incidence of MCS is that pesticide
or high level or repeated organic solvent exposure induces cases of
MCS. This interpretation has been challenged by MCS skeptics but they
have, in my judgement, no plausible alternative explanation.

J Occup Environ Med. 2006 Jan;48(1):76-82.
New aspects of psychiatric morbidity in idiopathic
environmental intolerances.
Hausteiner C, Mergeay A, Bornschein S, Zilker T,
Forstl H.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy,
Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany.

OBJECTIVE: To understand idiopathic environmental
intolerances (IEI)-formerly multiple chemical
sensitivities (MCS)-it is helpful to outline its
characteristic psychiatric morbidity.

METHOD: We applied a standardized interview
according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (SCID) to 305
environmental patients with and without IEI.

RESULTS: Somatoform, affective and anxiety
disorders were the most frequent diagnoses but
only slightly differed between patients with or
without IEI. In both groups, current
substance-related disorders were rare. We found
a clearly higher prevalence of psychotic,
especially current delusional disorders, in IEI.

CONCLUSION: Somatization, depression, and anxiety
are frequent in IEI but nonspecific. Psychotic
disorders are more common in IEI than in other
types of environmental illness. It appears
worthwhile to study personality and cognitive
style to explain the pivotal features of IEI.