Studies of interrelations between neurotrophic antibodies and individual neurophysiological indices in patients with professional chronic mercury intoxication at the post-exposure period

Abstract

Disturbances in the nervous system during chronic mercury intoxication (CМI) are accompanied by regular changes in the immune system. Diagnostic use of neurospecific protein markers of various pathological changes in the central nervous system is one of the promising areas of modern neuroimmunology. Prolonged exposure to the mercury vapors may cause disturbances of both CNS neurons and peripheral nerves. At the same time, the neuroimmune relationships underlying the evolving disease are not studied to sufficient grade, especially in the later post-contact period of chronic mercury intoxication. The aim of this work was to identify the relationship between the contents of antibodies to neurotrophic proteins of the nervous tissue, and changes of the neurophysiological indices characterizing the state of central and peripheral pathways in the nervous systems of the patients after chronic mercury intoxication (CMI). Our study immunological study included 30 males in the post-contact period of the CМI, who previously worked in contact with metallic mercury vapors. The clinical patterns of patients were dominated by encephalopathy, the main manifestation of which are mental disorders (more often in the form of organic asthenic disorder, or organic personality disorder with cognitive and emotional-volitional disorders of varying severity). The criteria for inclusion in the study were: verified diagnosis in all patients, written informed consent to participate in the study, a history of the harmful effects of metallic mercury vapor under production conditions. Statistical evaluation was carried out using Statistica for Windows 6.0 software. The levels of neurotrophic antibodies (AT), somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP), electroneuromyography (ENMG) data were studied in terms of assessing the relationship between changes in specialized structures of the nervous tissue, and the state of the central and peripheral neural pathways in the patients after chronic mercury exposure. The following correlations were found: those between the concentrations of antibodies to endorphin p ф-END) and changes in central conducting structures, as well as between antibodies to proteins S-100, MBP, GFAP, NF-200, VG calcium channel, MAG, p-END, AH-R, Ser-R, M-OR and the speed of axonal impulse conduction within various peripheral neural structures. The interrelations revealed in this study indicate to pathological changes in specialized structures of the nervous tissue, which may be used as diagnostic indicators for clinical course of CМI in the post-contact period.

Keywords

• immune system
• neurotropic antibodies
• central and peripheral pathways of the nervous system
• electroneuromyographic study
• chronic mercury intoxication