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Original article
Down-regulation of the inflammatory response after short-term exposure to low levels of chemical vapours
  1. Lena Ernstgård,
  2. Matteo Bottai,
  3. Gunnar Johanson,
  4. Bengt Sjögren
  1. Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  1. Correspondence to Dr Lena Ernstgård, Work Environment Toxicology, Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Lena.Ernstgard{at}ki.se

Abstract

Objective To investigate the relation between signs and symptoms of irritation and biomarkers of inflammatory markers in blood in healthy volunteers exposed to different chemical vapours for 2 or 4 hours in an exposure chamber.

Methods The investigated chemicals were: acetic acid (5 and 10 ppm), acrolein (0.05 and 0.1 ppm), 1,4-dioxane (20 ppm), n-hexanal (2 and 10 ppm), hydrogen peroxide (0.5 and 2.2 ppm), 2-propanol (150 ppm), m-xylene (50 ppm), standard and dearomatised white spirit (100 and 300 mg/m3). C reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A protein and interleukin 6 were measured in plasma immediately before and 2 or 4 hours after the exposures. Symptoms were rated from 0 to 100 mm in Visual Analogue Scales and covered 10 questions whereof four related to irritation: discomfort in the eyes, nose and throat and dyspnoea. The effect measurements included blink frequency by electromyography, nasal swelling by acoustic rhinometry and lung function by spirometry.

Results Logistic quantile regression analyses revealed no significant associations except a negative relation between ratings of irritation and CRP.

Conclusion The results suggest a down-regulation of CRP after short-term exposure to low levels of vapours of irritating chemicals. This response might be mediated by the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway and further studies are recommended in order to refute or confirm this hypothesis.

  • irritation
  • chamber exposure
  • human volunteers

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Footnotes

  • Contributors All authors have contributed in planning the study. LE compiled the data and wrote the first draft version. MB and LE conducted the statistical analyses. All authors commented on the draft versions of the manuscript.

  • Funding Financial support was offered to the original studies by Swedish Council for Working Life Research (98-0438), AFA Labour Market Insurance Company (T-06:05, T-25:04), Swedish Energy Agency (no number), Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (2013-0044) and the Heart and Lung Foundation (20120376, 20120818).

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent Obtained.

  • Ethics approval All studies were approved by the Regional Ethical Review Board in Stockholm.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.