Chemical Brain Injury

 by Kaye H. Kilburn M.D. 1998

The idea that the brain is the most susceptible of body organs to the adverse effects of chemicals seemed a remote possibility a decade or two ago. Among the skeptics was Dr. Kaye H. Kilburn. Well-known in Environmental Medicine and Occupational Health, he had demonstrated that airways-obstruction caused the Monday-morning asthma from cotton dust in textile workers that led to the Cotton Dust Standard. He showed how asbestos scarred the lungs’ small airways to trap air and reduce vital capacity and that welding fumes, aluminum refining, diesel exhaust and formaldehyde caused asthma by narrowing small airways. These workers complaints of memory loss, inability to concentrate, dizziness, lightheadedness and loss of balance led Dr. Kilburn to consider how to measure brain functions.

He borrowed and adapted tests and built devices to measure key brain activities, and learned to find out how symptoms predicted losses of balance, quickness, and strength, and loss of vision for color and form. Nearly 300 patients who had been exposed to chemicals were evaluated for diagnosis and nearly 4,000 people who had been exposed in groups were evaluated for chemical effects. Statistical analysis of patients gathered from individuals and groups in cities, towns, and rural areas provided complementary insights into the effects of chemicals.

Chemical Brain Injury focuses on how common and abundant chemicals affect the brain. It synthesizes endeavors to assess the effects of chemicals that were gathered over 15 years and published in 30 widely-scattered papers. Included are effects of chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, chlordane, arsenic, trichloroethylene, PCBs, hydrochloric acid and diesel exhaust. To understand how individuals and populations respond to chemicals, it considers the effects of aging, of years of school completed and of sex, height, weight and other factors.

The book addresses such issues as:

• The infrequency of chemically unaffected populations in the United States
• Mechanisms of brain damage from chemicals
• Prognosis and therapy

The last section examines the social context and discusses such matters as:

• The future of neurotoxicology, including needs and responsibility
• Legal proceedings
• Social changes

Chemical Brain Injury is the definitive volume on adverse effects of chemical exposure on the human brain.

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Chemical Brain Injury

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Pasadena, CA 91117