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Biomedical subjects

G Struwe

Publications and source records attributed to G Struwe.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Manganese exposure in steel smelters a health hazard to the nervous system.

In a study of the effects of low-level exposure to manganese (0.19-1.39 mg/m3 for 1-45 years) 30 men (aged 20-64 years) from two steel smelting works and 60 unexposed referents (aged 22-65 years) were examined with the use of a general health inquiry, electroencephalography, event-related auditory evoked potentials, brain-stem auditory evoked potentials, diadochokinesometry, simple and complex reaction time, finger tapping, digit span, mental arithmetic, vocabulary, a coding task, manual dexterity, symptoms, and mood scales, the diagnostic interview scheme, a dynamic rating scale for neurasthenic syndrome, and a comprehensive psychopathological rating scale. No group differences were found in the electroencephalography or the psychiatric examinations. However, there were increased frequencies of some symptoms, the diadochokinesis was slower, the P-300 latency and reaction time were increased, and finger-tapping and digit-span performance were impaired in the exposed group. These effects were interpreted as early (subclinical) signs of disturbances of the same type as parkinsonism.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

A double-blind comparative multicentre study of remoxipride and haloperidol in schizophrenia.

In a double-blind multicentre study of parallel group design the efficacy and safety of remoxipride and haloperidol were compared in a total of 96 patients with acute episodes of schizophrenic or schizophreniform disorder according to DSM-III. There were 48 patients in each treatment group; 27 men and 21 women in the remoxipride group, 33 men and 15 women in the haloperidol group. The median duration of illness was 7 years in both groups. The mean daily dose was 437 mg for remoxipride and 10.6 mg for haloperidol during the last week of treatment. No statistically significant differences in total BPRS scores were found between remoxipride and haloperidol. The median total BPRS scores at the start of active treatment were 26 in the remoxipride and 27 in the haloperidol group; these were reduced to 16 and 12.5, respectively, at the last rating. According to Clinical Global Impression (CGI), 43% of patients in the remoxipride group and 68% of those in the haloperidol group improved much or very much during treatment. This difference was not statistically significant. Treatment-emergent extrapyramidal side effects such as akathisia, tremor, and rigidity occurred significantly more frequently in the haloperidol group; this group also made more frequent use of anticholinergic drugs. Neither of the trial drugs seriously affected laboratory or cardiovascular variables. It is concluded that remoxipride has an antipsychotic effect in a dose range of 150-600 mg per day comparable to that of haloperidol in doses up to 20 mg per day but with fewer extrapyramidal side effects.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1983

Neuropsychiatric symptoms in workers occupationally exposed to jet fuel--a combined epidemiological and casuistic study.

Some aircraft personel and airline industry workers are exposed to jet fuel, a mixture of aliphatic hydrocarbons (petroleum 80%) and some organic solvents (petroleum 80%) and some organic solvents (aromatic hydrocarbons 20%). In order to evaluate the possible neuropsychiatric sequeale of such long-term occupational exposure, we examined 30 workers exposed at about 250 mg/m3 for 4-32 years at a jet motor factory. They were compared with two control groups (2 x 30) of matched non-exposed workers. The medical history was first assessed by standardized interviews and examination of medical records kept by the factory physician. The exposed subjects had, after their employment, much more often sought medical advice because of emotional dysfunctions, such as depression and anxiety, than had the control groups (P less than 0.005). When the prevalent mental symptoms, indicative of brain lesion, later were rated by psychiatrists, the exposed workers scored higher than did the controls (P less than 0.001). 14 subjects showing most symptoms were then selected for a thorough neuropsychiatric clinical investigation comprising psychosocial inquiries, psychological testing, personality assessment and neurological/neurophysiological examination. Seven were judged to suffer from mild organic brain syndrome (i.e. "organic neurasthenia") of which one subject was a severe case. The subjects had all undergone a slow but steady personality change over the years--starting from an ordinary strength without neurotic traits and moving towards an asthenic state with fatigue, anxiety and vegetative hyperreactivity. No other cause for this change could be identified as an alternative to the occupational exposure to jet fuel. It is concluded that personality changes and emotional dysfunctions are the foremost effects of such long-term exposure to petroleum products.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Psychiatric and neurological symptoms in workers occupationally exposed to organic solvents--results of a differential epidemiological study.

It is accepted knowledge today that repeated intoxication with organic solvents damages the central nervous system and causes persistent psycho-organic symptoms. That long-term but low-level occupational exposure--typical o painters and other blue-collar workers--can also induce such disorders has not generally been recognized. The present epidemiological study was undertaken to evaluate the possible neuropsychiatric effects of such exposure. 80 laquerers exposed to a mixture of industrial solvents (average hygienic effect 0.3) and 37 printers exposed almost only to toluene (average hygienic effect 1.0) were compared with a control group of 80 age-matched non-exposed subjects. In psychiatric interviews, the painters showed more mental symptoms. Fatigue, nervousness and lack of manual dexterity were most important and formed a typical neurasthenic syndrome. A general decrease in conduction velocity and action potential amplitude was also observed for the peripheral nerves. The printers showed a large decrease of the nerve action potential amplitude only for the sural nerve. No EEG abnormalities were found. Nor could any increase in mental symptoms be detected through psychiatric interviews compared to the controls. The results are interpreted as evidence for a CNS affection with consequent neuropsychiatric signs and symptoms after long-term occupational exposure to mixtures of industrial solvents below the current threshold limit values (TLV) but not after exposure to a single substance like toluene at about the TLV. The differential effects may be explained by synergistic amplification of the toxicity of solvent mixtures.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Psychiatric ratings in occupational health research: a study of mental symptoms in lacquerers.

Most previous occupational health studies have employed various questionnaires for the quantitative assessment of mental symptoms. However, reporters' errors may reduce the value of the information so obtained. Semistructured psychiatric interviews and rating scales offer another method to collect data on the prevalence of mental symptoms. This paper describes the application of rating techniques in an epidemiological study of the effect on the nervous system of occupational exposure to organic solvents. The results suggest that ratings by trained interviewers are as useful as many neurophysiological and psychometrical methods to detect early neurotoxicity. The contention agrees with a general opinion that slight changes in mental comfort and personality often are the first signs of progressive brain damage.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Exposure to organic solvents. A cross-sectional epidemiologic investigation on occupationally exposed care and industrial spray painters with special reference to the nervous system.

In the present epidemiologic study 80 car or industrial spray painters with long-term low level exposure to organic solvents were examined and compared with two matched reference groups of nonexposed industrial workers (80 persons in each group). The aim of the study was to investigate the possible effects of the solvent exposure on health. The investigation included psychiatric interviews, psychometric tests, neurological, neurophysiological and ophthalmologic examinations, and computed tomography of the brain. The painters' previous and present exposure was carefully assessed by interviews and on-the-job measurements both at modern places of work and in a reconstructed model of a workshop from 1955. On the basis of the psychiatric interviews the psychiatric symptoms were rated according to a specially designed scale of 46 different items, graded in seven steps of increasing severity. The psychological performance was assessed by a battery of 18 tests. The neurological and neurophysiological examinations comprised visual evoked responses (VER), electroencephalography (EEG), and computerized EEG analysis (SPA) for the central nervous system and electroneurography (ENeG), the estimation of vibration sense thresholds, and a quantified neurological examination for the peripheral nervous system. The ophthamologic examination concentrated on the condition of the lens. Statistically significant differences between the exposed individuals and referents were found for psychiatric items indicative of a slight cerebral lesion (ie, a neurasthenic syndrome). The psychometric tests revealed statistically significant differences between the groups with respect to reaction time, manual dexterity, perceptual speed, and short-term memory. No differences were found with respect to performance on verbal, spatial, and reasoning tests. Significant differences between the groups were also found for the majority of the neurophysiological parameters measuring peripheral nerve functions, the most pronounced occurring in the long, sensory fibers. Moreover EEG and VER showed some differences between the groups, as did the results of the ophthalmologic examination and the computed tomography. Finally, it should be emphasized that the exposure levels, as measured at modern places of work and in the reconstructed workshop from 1955, were found to be considerably lower than the valid threshold limit values in Sweden.

Brain↗
PubMed1979

Neurasthenic symptoms in workers occupationally exposed to jet fuel.

Long-term exposure to petroleum distillation products (e.g. jet fuel) has been suggested to cause chronic mental and neurological symptoms. In the present "cross-sectional epidemiological study" the extent of neuropsychiatric ill-health in 30 workers exposed to jet fuel was compared with that in 60 non-exposed matched controls. Standardized medical interviews showed a higher occurrence of neurasthenic symptoms in exposed subjects (P less than 0.001). The result was confirmed by examination of the medical records kept by the factory physician (P less than 0.01). The prevalence of psychiatric symptoms was assessed with a rating scale of 37 items (a modified CPRS). Again, the exposed workers scored higher than the controls (P less than 0.001), particularly regarding the neurasthenic symptoms, i.e. fatigue, anxiety, mood changes, memory difficulties, and various psychosomatic symptoms (P less than 0.01). The results could neither be explained by observer's bias, nor by a greater susceptibility for mental disorders in the exposed subjects. We therefore conclude that occupational exposure to jet fuel vapours around the present threshold limit values may induce a neurasthenic syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

A CPRS subscale to assess mental symptoms in workers exposed to jet fuel--some methodological considerations.

A CPRS subscale was constructed for the assessment of mental symptoms in 30 workers exposed to jet fuel and in 30 matched non-exposed controls. All subjects were interviewed in random order by the same psychiatrist. Interviews were recorded on tapes later used for evaluation of rating-rerating and inter-rater reliability, which were in the range of rs 0.75--0.85. The average score of the exposed group exceeded significantly that of the control group. Items concerned with symptoms referred to as neurasthenic and as neurotic differentiated best between the groups. It appears that the subscale is sensitive enough differentiate between two groups of non-patient individuals and has helped establishing that occupational exposure to jet fuel may induce a psycho-organic reaction.

Environmental Exposure↗
PubMed1978

Long-term exposure to jet fuel. II. A cross-sectional epidemiologic investigation on occupationally exposed industrial workers with special reference to the nervous system.

Thirty jet fuel exposed workers selected according to exposure criteria and thirty nonexposed controls from a jet motor factory were examined, with special reference to the nervous system, by occupational hygiene physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and neurophysiologists. The controls and the exposed subjects were matched with respect to age, employment duration, and education. Among the exposed subjects the mean exposure duration was 17 years, and 300 mg/m3 was calculated as a rough time-weighted average exposure level. The investigation revealed significant differences between the exposed and nonexposed groups for (a) incidence and prevalence of psychiatric symptoms, (b) psychological tests with the load on attention and sensorimotor speed and (c) electroencephalograms. When the control group was selected, it was ensured that the two groups were essentially equivalent except for exposure to jet fuel. It is concluded, therefore, that the differences found between the groups are probably related to exposure to jet fuel.

Adult↗