How’s your brain?
February 10, 2023
Do you experience headaches, sleep problems, skin lesions or dizziness?
How about memory and concentration problems?
A new study helps explain why.
In a paper published late last year, Drs Dominique Belpomme and Philippe Irigaray describe a condition they call Combined Neurological Syndrome that comprises two types of environmental sensitivity – Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS) and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).
The researchers examined information from 2018 people who had undergone medical tests and face-to-face interviews. Then they compared the neurological (brain and nervous system) symptoms of people with EHS, MCS and EHS plus MCS.
They found ‘no statistically significant difference between the EHS and MCS groups for the frequency of symptoms such as headache, neck stiffness (as confirmed by cervical X-rays in all the investigated patients), skin lesions, tremors/vibrations, myalgia, trismus/neuro-muscular contraction, arthralgia, hyperacusis, photophobia, functional ocular impairment, paralytic ictus (see above), balance disorder, loss of immediate memory, confusion, fatigue, suicidal ideation, anxiety/panic crisis, emotional behavior, irritability, nausea/abdominal pain, cardiovascular abnormalities and impaired thermoregulation.’
They did find that some symptoms occurred more frequently in people with EHS than those with MCS and people with EHS and MCS tended to have more symptoms than those with EHS only. In other words, chemical sensitivity appeared to make symptoms worse.
The study also found that more women suffered from EHS and MCS than men.
Why do these symptoms occur?
The authors consider it has to do with the plasticity (changeability) of synapses (nerve cell junctions) in the central nervous system. They suggested that a receptor called N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) might be involved because it can affect synapse plasticity. They also suggested that the limbic system of the brain could be involved.
The study is important because it demonstrates that the conditions are real, not imagined, and are a related to exposure. The authors say, ‘We have shown also that both EHS and MCS can be characterized by identical biomarkers detected in the peripheral blood and urine of patients. Therefore, contrary to previous reports, we strongly suggest that EHS and MCS are objective somatic disorders which cannot be hypothesized to originate from non-EMF-related psychologic or psychiatric causes or from vague, undefined functional impairments.’
Belpomme, D.; Irigaray, P. Combined Neurological Syndrome in Electrohypersensitivity and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: A Clinical Study of 2018 Cases. J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12, 7421.
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