Acta Biomedica Scientifica (May 2013)
Role of neurotropic antibodies in forming of neurological disorders in employees of chemical production
Abstract
Using the neurospecific proteins as the markers of different pathological changes in CNS is known to be one of the perspective trends of the modern neurophysiology and medicine. That's why, this work aimed to reveal the change regularities in the antibody (AB) content to the neurospecific proteins in chronic exposure to the neurotoxicants of different chemical nature of employees. 170 workers males have been examined including 79 employees working at the production of vinyl chloride and exposed to vinyl chloride plus dichloroethane, as well as 81 males working at the production of caustic under conditions of the exposure to the metallic mercury vapours including . Measuring the autoantibody concentration to the myelin-associated glycoprotein (MGA) (AT to MAG) in the blood sera was performed using the standard hard-phasic immune-enzymic method by means of the test-system of the Company BUHLMANN (Sweden). As a result of studies it was foud that the increase in the AB concentration has been revealed in the healthy employees with a long-term working period and the persons with the initial manifestations of neurointoxication, working under conditions of the exposure to vinyl chloride and dichloroethane compared with the control group. The study results have allowed to reveal the increase in the AB levels to MAG in the employees with the initial manifestations of neurointoxication compared with the control group. It is worth to be noted that the AB concentration to MAG was significantly found to increase in the patients with chronic mercury intoxication compared to the healthy employees and the persons with the initial manifestations of neurointoxication. Thereto, it should be noted that the mean index values in the patients with CMI in the clinical picture in whom the asthenic disorders prevailed and in the patients with the prevalence of the cognitive disorders were significantly found to differ both between them and relatively to the persons with the initial manifestations of neurointoxication as well as the control group. Moreover, the higher AB levels have been revealed in the patients with the prevalence of the cognitive disorders compared with the patients with the prevalence of the asthenic disorders. The differences revealed in the intensity of the autoimmune responses in the employees induced by the exposure to mercury and vinyl chloride (more expressed in exposure to mercury) may possibly testify the different mechanisms based on the neurointoxication development. Determining the neuronal antibodies may serve not only as the diagnostic tool of the pathological process development in the nervous tissue but it may testify the need of performing the measures of prevention and rehabilitation of the employees exposed to the neurotoxicants.
