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Article: Is the human nervous system most sensitive to environmental toxins? (editorial)
- Article from:
- Archives of Environmental Health
- Article date:
- November 1, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Is the Human Nervous System Most Sensitive to Environmental Toxins?
ALTHOUGH the origins of neurotoxicity are lost in prehistory, systematic observations of palsy and colic from lead were made by Benjamin Franklin; erethism (irritation), tremor, and cachexia were observed in the mirror silverers exposed to mercury; and amalgams were noted by Ramazzini and Kussmaul and were immortalized in "hatters shakes" and madness by Lewis Carroll. Despite this extensive history, there has been a belated focus on neurotoxins and an apparent lack of unifying concepts concerning their recognition and mechanisms of action.
In attempting to rectify these deficiencies, I ...