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Exposure to Air Pollution: How Particles Enter the Body
Published in Antonietta Morena Gatti, Stefano Montanari, Advances in Nanopathology From Vaccines to Food, 2021
Antonietta Morena Gatti, Stefano Montanari
The problem becomes more and more serious for the cabin crew, who, unlike passengers whose exposure is only occasional, can suffer the phenomenon with a certain frequency. Thus, to the symptoms listed above, others are added: severe hair loss, insomnia, swollen eyes, poor eyesight with photophobia, extreme fatigue, slight hearing loss, palpitations, fluctuating blood pressure, muscle weakness with severe pain, sciatic pain, stiff neck, alcohol intolerance and fragrance intolerance - a set of symptoms which is partially similar to that of a multiple chemical sensitivity.
Addendum I: Transneuronal Retrograde Messengers in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Published in Jay A. Goldstein, Chronic Fatigue Syndromes, 2020
CFS patients with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) sometimes report improvement in their symptoms after NTG. In one experiment, odorant-induced cGMP response was thought to be NO-mediated in the Sprague-Dawley rat.12 Some MCS patients are not improved by NTG. It is possible that they may have a deficiency of another transneuronal retrograde messenger, carbon monoxide (CO). The olfactory tubercle in rats in another study was found to lack NO synthase, but to be enriched in heme oxygenase-2, which produces CO from heme, and guanylyl cyclase, which is stimulated by CO as well as NO.13 Heme oxygenase-2 is present in high concentrations in the brain, although the reason for its being there was enigmatic until recently.14,15 CO is a vasodilator, although much less potent than NO.16 I am tempted to think that the regional cerebral hypoperfusion of some of our CFS patients may be due to a decreased regional stimulation of heme oxygenase-2. We have seen normalization of hypoperfused areas on brain SPECT in CFS patients who respond to NO, with no effect on rCBF elsewhere, suggesting a localized NO deficit in these responders.17
Environmental Toxins and Chronic Illness
Published in Aruna Bakhru, Nutrition and Integrative Medicine, 2018
All the references discussed above make mention through case reports and other data that detoxification procedures clearly assist in reduction of chief complaints in many patients carrying a significant load of environmental toxins. Unfortunately, some of the statements made in these references also suggest that, with optimal compliance, success is assured. A landmark study published in 2003 that examined clinical efficacy of virtually all the treatment modalities discussed above in patients with multiple chemical sensitivity suggests this is indeed not true. In “Perceived Treatment Efficacy for Conventional and Alternative Therapies Reported by Persons with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity” by Gibson et al. (2003), 917 individuals were evaluated. About 82% were women and 95% were Caucasian. Ages ranged from 20 to 82 years with a mean age of 53 years. There were 7% that identified the severity of their multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) as mild, 32% as moderate, 45% as severe, and 13% as totally disabling. Patient evaluations of 108 different treatments were categorized by percentage in terms of the following: Very helpfulSomewhat helpfulNo noticeable effectSomewhat harmfulVery harmful
How do women suffering from multiple chemical sensitivity experience the medical encounter? a qualitative study in Spain
Published in Disability and Rehabilitation, 2021
Erica Briones-Vozmediano, Eva Espinar-Ruiz
Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome have been recently defined as central nervous system sensitization disorders. Because of the abnormal and intense increase of pain and other somatic stimuli in the central nervous system, there has been a neurobiological reconceptualization of these conditions, not as separate but as a broader central sensitization syndrome [1–4]. In particular, MCS is characterized by an intolerance to low levels of chemicals used in daily life, “with which the rest of the population experiences little problem” [5]. Examples of problematic substances include perfumes, cleaning products, air fresheners, construction materials, pesticides, car exhaust fumes or fresh paint. Given the general presence of these substances in public and private places, this condition can lead to significant life disruptions [6,7].
Which sources of electromagnetic field are of the highest concern for electrosensitive individuals? – Questionnaire study with a literature review
Published in Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, 2021
Artur Kacprzyk, Gabriela Kanclerz, Eugeniusz Rokita, Grzegorz Tatoń
Idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to EMF (IEI-EMF), also called electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), is a condition in which subjects complain of a variety of nonspecific physical symptoms, which are attributed to exposure to electromagnetic field (EMF) (WHO 2005). It is a widespread problem among developed countries with an incidence ranging from less than 1% to even 13% (Huang et al. 2018). Recently, new diagnostic criteria of EHS have been proposed by Belpomme and Irigaray, which are applicable for a clinical setting (Belpomme and Irigaray 2020). Five criteria identifying EHS individuals are: (1) absence of known pathology accounting for the observed clinical symptoms; (2) association of nonspecific physical symptoms, including, e.g. headache, tinnitus, hyperacusis, dizziness, loss of immediate memory, attention/concentration deficiency; (3) reproducibility of symptoms under the influence of EMFs; (4) regression or disappearance of symptoms in the case of EMF avoidance; (5) similarity to multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). IEI-EMF may have a notable impact on an afflicted individual’s quality of life, as well as occupational and social functioning, and is associated with degradation of general health status, increased health service demands and level of distress (Carlsson et al. 2005; Huang et al. 2018; Roosli et al. 2004; Rubin et al. 2008).
The effect of comorbid medical and psychiatric diagnoses on chronic fatigue syndrome
Published in Annals of Medicine, 2019
Benjamin H. Natelson, Jin-Mann S. Lin, Gudrun Lange, Sarah Khan, Aaron Stegner, Elizabeth R. Unger
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a medically unexplained illness characterised by the new onset of fatigue, severe enough to produce a substantial decrease in activity, not relieved by rest, lasting for more than 6 months and accompanied by rheumatologic, infectious and neuropsychiatric symptoms [1,2]. Other clinically defined, medically unexplained illnesses often co-exist. One report noted considerable overlap in symptoms, as well as diagnosis, among patients with ME/CFS and those with the body-wide pain syndrome indicative of fibromyalgia (FM) and the syndrome of marked sensitivity to smells and odours indicative of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) [3]. In an analysis of 32 patients with this illness, nearly half had co-existing MCS and an eighth had FM; importantly, patients having more than one diagnosis had more disability than those with one diagnosis alone [4]. In addition to FM and MCS, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) also appears to exist frequently in patients with ME/CFS [5]. A prior study found an additional burden of lifetime psychiatric diagnosis in those with more than one diagnosis [6]. Patients with medically unexplained fatigue often fulfil criteria for major depressive disorder [6] and patients with depression often have somatic symptoms [7]. The objective of this report is to examine the impact of having one or more of the medically unexplained comorbid illnesses as well as current psychiatric diagnoses on ME/CFS symptom frequency and severity and risk of disability.