Rich Murray: M. Singer PhD: toxicology services 5.11.1 rmforall

[Guest guest]

Rich Murray: M. Singer PhD: toxicology services 5.11.1 rmforall

Dr. Singer offers expert diagnosis, evaluation, advice, and

case summaries for the medical, insurance, and legal needs of

victims of the wide range of toxins in modern society, including

pesticides, mercury, MSG, fluoride, and aspartame.

http://members.aol.com/neurosite/

http://members.aol.com/DonationDrive/SingerPesticideNeuro.html

Singer, R. (1999, expected).

Neuropsychological evaluation of bystander exposure to pesticides.

The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 9, 1.

RAYMOND M. SINGER, Ph.D., P.A.

Independent Practice, Santa Fe, New Mexico,

and New York, New York

36 Alondra Road / Santa Fe, New Mexico /87505

180 E. 79th Street Suite 1-C New York, N.Y. 10021

Fax: raysinger@...

ABSTRACT

Background: There are reports in the literature of long-term

neurobehavioral dysfunction in persons with pesticide exposure,

primarily in occupational settings. This report presents data

concerning a subject with non-occupational and apparently

single-incident exposure.

A home with open windows and a property were sprayed by helicopter

with a mixture of pesticides, including chlorpyrifos, a carbamate

(carbofuran) and an organophosphate.

Three dogs on the property, fed from separate cans of food, were

vomiting and listless, and were diagnosed by their veterinarian with

pesticide poisoning.

The subject reported initial symptoms of anxiety, itching on face

which spread over her body, dizziness and forgetfulness, with sleep

frequently interrupted around 2-3 AM with symptoms of breathlessness,

followed by numb hands and feet and a feeling of " blacking out " .

She continued to reside in the home during the time when the pesticides

were still potent. Her primary symptoms at the time of this

examination, three years later, were disabling chemical sensitivity,

along with sleep apnea-like episodes, and memory problems. ...

Methods: Physical examination which ruled out other causes of the

symptoms, medical record review, brain MRI and neuropsychological

testing.

Results: Brain MRI showed diffuse scattered foci of increased signal

intensity in the subcortical and periventricular white matter tracts.

Organophosphate pesticides are known to cause degeneration of

the myelin.

>From normal or better pre-exposure function,

declines in function included arithmetic (5th %); Digit

Symbol and Symbol Search (9th %);

visual memory (BVRT, 11 errors); Embedded Figures (1st %);

Paired Associates Learning (1st %) and logical memory (1st %).

Personality testing showed no personality disorder.

[Note: Below are several paragraphs from the text of the article which

describe in more detail the patient's actual loss of cognitive skills.

Her pre-exposure GPA was 3.7, and she had been a member of

Phi Theta Kappa (National Honor Society) and Sigma Tau Delta

(National English Honor Society). The subject was working at

home at the time of exposure.

Current neurobehavioral testing revealed a FSIQ at the 25th

percentile; performance IQ at the 18th percentile; processing

speed at the 8th percentile; psychomotor speed at the 9th

percentile; arithmetic at the 5th percentile.

A decline in overall intelligence was detected, along with

specific deficits in arithmetic skills, psychomotor speed,

visual perception (visual detection skills), and incidental

memory. When looking at index scores, deficits can be seen

in perceptual organization and processing speed.

The Benton Visual Retention Test found strong indication

of acquired impairment of cognitive functioning (11 errors).

An Embedded Figures Test which evaluates the ability to

detect visual figure-ground relationships found performance

below the 1st percentile.

The Expanded Paired Associate Test, which evaluates verbal

learning ability, found deficits in immediate recall (1st %) and

delayed recall (11th %).

Auditory information processing and tracking was below

the 1st %. Logical memory ability, both immediate and delayed,

was reduced by half. There was no evidence of psychoses,

distortion or malingering based upon numerous tests of these

variables.]

Conclusion: Doctors need to be aware that pesticide exposure can lead

to permanent neuropsychological deficits, even with a " single " exposure.

Brain dysfunctions from neurotoxicity can be revealed

with appropriate neuropsychological testing.

Click here for the entire text Dr. Singer's article.

http://members.aol.com/neurosite/pest99.htm

**********************************************************