Improvement in Perception of Transcutaneous Nerve Stimulation Following Detoxification in Firefighters Exposed to PCBs, PCDDs and PCDFs

Clinical Ecology, Vol. VI, No.2, 1989.

Summary: Seventeen firefighters with a history of acute exposure to polychlorinated biphyenyls, dibenzofurans, and dibenzodioxins were evaluated for peripheral neuropathy. Neuropathic evaluation was done using the Neurometer®, a transcutaneous nerve stimulation device. Prior to detoxification, five of the 17 had abnormal current perception threshold measurements. Following treatment, all showed improvement. Most strikingly, the current perception thresholds of two patients returned to normal range after detoxification. This finding raises the possibility that damage heretofore thought to be permanent may in many instances be partially reversible.

Occupational, Environmental and Public Health in Semic: A Case Study of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Pollution

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Civil Engineers, New Orleans, Louisiana, October, 1989.

Summary: Eleven workers with readily observable symptoms of exposure to PCBs and other chemicals were chosen for detoxification from a group of 24 male volunteers from a factory using PCBs in the manufacture of capacitors. The remaining 13 served as a control group. Detoxification treatment reduced both the body burdens and the symptoms of treated workers while no such improvements occurred in the control group. This study, undertaken in cooperation with the University Medical Center of Ljubljana and the Institut fur Toxikologie, University and Technical Faculty of Zurich, supports the use of health screening and detoxification for individuals affected by toxic exposures.