Free Case Review

Exposure To Organic Solvents Causes Neurologic Diseases

Organic solvents have long been recognized as being toxic to multiple organ systems. It is commonly known that exposure to organic solvents causes hematologic diseases, including hematologic cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. A large body of literature has developed which shows that exposure to organic solvents causes kidney disease, especially chronic glomerulonephritis. A number of recent epidemiologic studies also show that organic solvent exposure causes hard tumors at various organ sites, including renal (kidney) cancer and liver cancer. It has also long been recognized that overexposure to organic solvents causes a toxic neuropathy.

During the past decade several epidemiologic studies have explored causal factors for neurologic diseases, including multiple sclerosis, systemic sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease. Due to the rarity of these diseases, most of these studies have necessarily employed case-control design features. Interestingly, several of these studies find apparent associations with occupational exposure to organic solvents.

Recently, researchers at the Department of Public Health of the Medical College of Ohio published an article which investigated the causal association between solvent exposure and systemic sclerosis. Aryal, BK, et al., "Meta-analysis of systemic sclerosis and exposure to solvents," Amer. J. Ind. Med. 40(3):271-274 (2001). The authors conducted a literature search for articles regarding solvent exposure and systemic sclerosis. They identified seven case-control studies and one cohort study published between 1989 and 1998 and conducted a meta-analysis of these epidemiologic studies. They found that the combined estimator of relative risk for all studies was 2.91, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.60 to 5.30. The combined estimator of relative risk for the seven case-control studies was 3.14 (95% CI, 1.56-6.33). The authors found that the risk of systemic sclerosis was increased about 3-fold in the studies and that this increase was statistically significant. The authors therefore concluded that organic solvent exposure is likely a cause of systemic sclerosis.

A review article regarding the association between organic solvents and multiple sclerosis was published by Swedish researchers in 1996. Landtblom, AM, et al., "Organic solvents and multiple sclerosis: a synthesis of the current evidence," Epidemiology 7(4):429-33 (1996). These authors found 13 relevant studies which included information on solvent exposure. In 10 of the studies, there were indications of an increased risk of multiple sclerosis in relation to solvent exposure. The authors made three selections of studies for both pooled analyses and meta-analyses. The relative risk point estimates that they obtained varied from 1.7 to 2.6. The authors concluded their evaluation was consistent with the hypothesis that organic solvents cause multiple sclerosis.

A case-control study of patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was conducted by researchers at the University of Washington at Seattle. McGuire, V., et al., "Occupational exposures and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A population-based case-control study," Amer. J. Epidemiol. 145(12):1076-88 (1997). This study showed a statistically significant increase in ALS among men heavily exposed to agricultural chemicals (odds ratio 2.8 (95% CI 1.3-6.1).

In 2000, Italian researchers conducted a nested case-control study to investigate a causal association between organic solvent exposure and Parkinson's disease. Pezzoli, G., et al., "Hydrocarbon exposure and Parkinson's disease," Neurology 55(5):667-73 (2000). These researchers found that exposure to hydrocarbon solvents directly correlated to disease severity and concluded that occupations involving the use of hydrocarbon solvents are a risk factor for earlier onset of symptoms of Parkinson's disease and more severe disease throughout its course.

Recently, researchers affiliated with the European Study Group on Atypical Parkinsonisms investigated causality between organic solvent exposure and multiple system atrophy, a rare form of atypical Parkinsonism. Vanacore N, et al., "Epidemiology of multiple system atrophy," Neurol. Sci. 22(1):97-9 (2001). These researchers noted that only one case-control study had been done of this rare disease and that the study showed an increased risk of MSA associated with occupational exposure to organic solvents, as well as plastic monomers, pesticides, and metals -- all substances which involve the use of organic solvents.

Thus, the causal association between organic solvent exposure and development of sclerotic and other neurologic disorders is now well-established by the epidemiologic literature. Given the robustness of the epidemiologic causal association between organic solvent exposure and these horrific diseases, the Law Offices of Raphael Metzger has now begun representing workers suffering from sclerosing and other neurologic diseases in third party litigation.

Our Lawyers Can Help!

If you have questions about benzene poisoning or blood disorder symptoms and are concerned about possible occupational diseases and cancers, we are here to help. Toxic tort and injury laws are complex and confusing. The Metzger Law Group is here to help you. Call us today for a FREE evaluation to find out if you have a case or fill out our free evaluation forms to consult with a member of our caring staff.