Cerebral blood flow in chronic toxic encephalopathy in house painters exposed to organic solvents

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was studied in 11 controls and 9 house painters occupationally exposed to organic solvents for a mean of 22 years. They had mild to moderate intellectual impairment, and no or only minor cerebral atrophy was seen in a CT-scan of the brain. The ¹³³Xe inhalation technique was used and the flow was calculated from the inital slope of the ¹³³Xe wash out curve (ISI). ISI averaged 36.8 ml/100 g/min in the painters and 45.4 ml/100 g/min in the controls, representing a significant difference ( P < 0.05). The reduced CBF in these painters with slight to moderate intellectual impairment might be due to limited neuronal loss or to permanently decreased metabolism of the neurones.