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This an article from a Lawyer's Journal, so they are not selling a product or service, and the information is unbiased by any economic interst
Recognizing Neurotoxicity
The symptoms of brain injury from exposure to hazards like lead paint and toxic chemicals vary widely. But there are ways you and your experts can pinpoint the damage and its cause.
Raymond Singer and Dana Darby Johnson
Neurotoxicity--poisoning of the brain and nervous system--is a well-documented effect of exposure to many widely used chemicals, yet doctors (and lawyers) often fail to recognize it.
Chemically injured clients often report a confusing array of symptoms, with no medical diagnosis. The symptoms may seem vague and unconnected, leading you to wonder, ``Could these symptoms really be caused by a chemical exposure?''
Once you recognize the signs and understand them in context--as a constellation of symptoms resulting from a toxic injury--you will have greater confidence in bringing your client's case to justice.
A person who has suffered a serious chemical injury is likely to have sustained considerable damage to his or her brain and nervous system. This is important for a lawyer to know, because doctors often recognize only the person's physical illness, not realizing that serious brain and nervous system damage may have also occurred.
Neurotoxicity can be documented, but perhaps not in the way you might think. A person's ability to think, perceive, control emotions, plan, and manage his or her life can diminish drastically without anything being visible to a radiologist or neurologist on an MRI or a CT scan.
The most reliable and widely accepted way to assess actual brain function is through neuropsychological evaluation. (This is true for head-injury patients and those suffering from dementia, as well as those affected by exposure to toxic chemicals.)
Researchers have noted that imaging techniques are often of little value in evaluating neurotoxicity.
In our and others' experience, imaging techniques can occasionally pick up abnormalities caused by neurotoxicity and may be helpful for forensic purposes, but they are not cost-beneficial for routine screening.
Neuropsychological testing tends to be more sensitive to brain injury than CT and routine MRI scans, which provide only a static and relatively gross view of neural structure.
In one study of six head-injury cases, CT and/or MRI scans yielded little or no evidence of neuropathology as detected by neuropsychological testing.
Positron emission tomography (PET) scans, however, corroborated the impaired function. PET and SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) scans offer a more dynamic look at brain structure, but both of these tests still need interpretation as to the cause of the abnormality (which could be benign).
Common symptoms What do chronic pain, anxiety, neurological problems, confusion, psychiatric symptoms, and cognitive declines have in common? They can all result from neurotoxic chemical exposure.
Symptoms of neurotoxicity include memory and concentration problems; confusion; multiple sclerosis or MS-type symptoms; impaired control of the limbs, bladder, or bowels; headaches or migraines; sleep disorders, including sleep apnea; eye problems that are neurological in origin; balance and hearing problems; muscle weakness; anxiety or panic attacks; depression; and other psychiatric or neurological symptoms.
Other symptoms that could be caused by chemical injury include multi-organ system malfunction; lower or upper respiratory problems, such as chronic sinus problems; multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS); liver or kidney problems; and fibromyalgia or other pain disorders.
Along with nervous system dysfunction, the temporal association of any of these conditions with toxic chemical exposure tends to support the theory that the overall cause of the client's injuries is a toxic insult to the body.
1From: Raymond Singer & Dana Darby Johnson, Recognizing Neurotoxicity, TRIAL, Mar. 2006, at 62. Reprinted [or posted] with permission of TRIAL (March 2006). Copyright: The Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Revised: February 28, 2006.
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CaliforniaLyme
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 7136
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Yup, Lyme is a neurotoxin, all righT!!!!!!
-------------------- There is no wealth but life. -John Ruskin
All truth goes through 3 stages: first it is ridiculed: then it is violently opposed: finally it is accepted as self evident. - Schopenhauer Posts: 5639 | From Aptos CA USA | Registered: Apr 2005
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canbravelyme
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There is clearly something political going on when one of us with clear symptoms of neurotoxicity is patronized by a neurologist. Certainly neurotoxicity is discussed in medical classes, not only law schools.
Best wishes,
-------------------- For medical advice related to Lyme disease, please see an ILADS physician. Posts: 1494 | From Getting there... | Registered: Aug 2006
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-------------------- Bart Henslea 1976 Fibro/CFS/arthritis 2004 Lyme diagnosed 2007 3 1/2 years treatment with oral combos, Cowden, IV roc. BW herbs. Off all abx in 12/10. Feeling good. Posts: 647 | From NY | Registered: Dec 2007
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Greatcod
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I think doctors simply don't take it seriously, and don't diagnose or treat for it. I asked my PCP for a mercury toxicity test, and he looked at me as if I was completely out of my mind. He didn't even know how the test could get done. I came up borderline toxic in the blood test, and I certainly have the symptoms. The tuna and tooth disease. Oh boy.
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Greatcod, Get yourself a "Doctors Data" toxic elements hair test and find yourself a good holistic dentist who uses all percautions if you have mercury fillings.
This is a must when you have Lyme.
-------------------- Bart Henslea 1976 Fibro/CFS/arthritis 2004 Lyme diagnosed 2007 3 1/2 years treatment with oral combos, Cowden, IV roc. BW herbs. Off all abx in 12/10. Feeling good. Posts: 647 | From NY | Registered: Dec 2007
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sparkle7
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10397
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If only we knew who to sue for all this pain & suffering...
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
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you sue the physician, as with any other malpractice.
all we need is a few successful lawsuits. once one is won, others follow, as lawyers constantly site decisions of past cases.
in cecil county a dr was sued by a teen who lost 30 points of IQ because of lyme misdiagnosis and won in the millions.
if there is proof of damage, there is a lawsuit.
Posts: 615 | From maryland | Registered: Oct 2007
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klutzo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5701
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Not all Neuros are horrible. After only one visit to a Neuro, he was alarmed enough to send me for NeuroPsych testing, which revealed serious brain damage. The results were so bad they got my disability review changed from once every 3 yrs. to once every 10 yrs.
Like Cave, I was shocked to find that I had trouble with some simple tests. I could not put together a simple six piece child's puzzle while blindfolded. The blindfold is used to test the person's sense of touch. It took me 20 minutes to put the puzzle together. I was told the average 5 yr old could have done it in less than one minute. I was quite depressed over the results.
The tests took 6 hours, done in two 3 hr. sessions over two days, and Medicare paid for most of it. It was not expensive anyway, compared with CTs and MRIs, and well worth it,if for nothing else than self-validation. Afterwards, I felt like that old tombstone joke, ie. "I told you I was sick!"
Klutzo
Posts: 1269 | From Clearwater, Florida, USA | Registered: May 2004
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