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724759 
Journal Article 
Presenile dementia as an occupational disease following industrial exposure to organic solvents. A review of the literature 
Mikkelsen, S; Gregersen, P; Klausen, H 
1978 
0 
Ugeskrift for Laeger
ISSN: 0041-5782
EISSN: 1603-6824 
140 
27 
1633-1638 
Danish 
The acute effects of organic solvents on the brain are well recognized. On the other hand, there has been uncertainty as to whether daily occupational exposure can result in chronic brain damage. The predominant conception in recent years in Denmark has been that this was neither probable nor proved. A review of the comprehensive literature on the subject reveals that symptoms of chronic brain damage in workers with solvents have been reported as early as 1856 and regularly since then in the form of case reports and results of group investigations. In several investigations from the fifties and sixties, clinical and test-psychological investigations have revealed a slight to moderate organic psycho-syndrome in 20-40% of the groups of workers exposed to solvents. Investigations from the seventies reveal that, in a number of psychological tests, groups of exposed persons show significantly poorer performances than non-exposed groups. In recent years, a considerable number of cases with incapacitating conditions of dementia have been recognized in patients exposed to solvents. An excess risk of incapacitating neuro-psychiatric disease has been demonstrated among these. On the basis of these findings and other experience of neurotoxic effects of solvents, it is concluded that it is highly probable that there is a causal relation between occupational exposure to solvents and organic brain damage. The occupational hygienic consequence of this should be that exposure to organic solvents should be limited to the greatest possible extent as the definite lower limits of harmful influence are not known 
11/06/2007