Usefulness of Color Vision Test for Early Detection of Neurological Damages by Neurotoxic Substances.
10.3961/jpmph.2008.41.6.397
- Author:
Eun Hee LEE
1
;
Kyungho CHOI
;
Hong Jae CHAE
;
Domyung PAEK
Author Information
1. Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Korea. paekdm@snu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Review ; Evaluation Studies ; English Abstract
- Keywords:
Color vision impairment;
Neurotoxic substances;
Neurotoxic effects
- MeSH:
*Color Perception Tests;
Color Vision Defects/*chemically induced/diagnosis;
Early Diagnosis;
Hazardous Substances/*toxicity;
Humans;
Neurotoxicity Syndromes/*diagnosis/pathology;
Solvents/adverse effects
- From:Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
2008;41(6):397-406
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
This paper reviews the published literature that is concerned with color vision impairment from industrial and environmental exposure to neurotoxic substances, and we evaluated whether testing for color vision impairment could be an affordable procedure for assessing these neurotoxic effects. In general, most cases of congenital color vision impairment are red-green, and blue-yellow impairment is extremely rare. However, most of the acquired color vision impairment that is related to age, alcohol or environmental factors is blue-yellow impairment. Therefore, many studies have been performed to identify this relationship between exposure to neurotoxic substances, such as organic solvents and heavy metals, and the prevalence of blueyellow color vision impairment. The test for color vision impairment is known to be very sensitive to the early signs of nervous system dysfunction and this can be useful for making the early diagnosis of neurotoxic effects from exposure to very low concentrations of toxic substances.
