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Perspectives on multisensory perception disruption in idiopathic environmental intolerance: a systematic review

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Abstract

Purpose

Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) also known as idiopathic environmental intolerance/illness (IEI) encompasses a cohort of subjective symptoms characterized by susceptibility to a wide spectrum of environmental compounds, causing symptoms involving various organs and a decrease in quality of life. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize evidence about MCS, with focus on indexed studies analyzing sensory pathway-related disorders.

Methods

Medical databases were searched for English language articles related to the topic, published between 1965 and 2017 in academic, peer-reviewed journals. Particular focus was concentrated on articles depicting disturbances involving sensory organs. References of the relevant articles were examined to identify additional significant documents.

Results

Fifty-eight studies were eligible for full text review. Of these, 34 studies met the selection criteria and were included in this analysis. Many variables, such as different diagnostic criteria, lack of homogeneous symptom questionnaires and the general incidence of personality traits in control subjects, biased studies as confounding factors. However, moderate evidences show that sensory pathways are somewhat altered, especially with respect to information processing in the limbic system and related cortical areas. Recent studies suggested the presence, in MCS cohorts, of attention bias, sensitization and limbic kindling, as well as recently revealed subclinical organic alterations along sensory pathways.

Conclusions

Evidences are consistent with MCS/IEI to be the result of a neural altered processing of sensorial ascending pathways, which combined with peculiar personality traits constitutes the underpinning of a multisensory condition needing multidisciplinary clinical approach.

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Acknowledgments

The Authors would like to dedicate the present review article to the memory of Prof. Giuseppe Genovesi, who spent a large part of his life in deepening the unclear aspects of Idiopathic Environmental Illness.

Funding

The authors did not receive any funding support for this study.

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Author notes

  1. Andrea Viziano and Alessandro Micarelli equally contributed to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Sciences and Translational Medicine, University of Rome‘Tor Vergata’, Via Montpellier, 1; E sud Tower, 00133, Rome, Italy

    Andrea Viziano, Alessandro Micarelli, Guido Pasquantonio & Marco Alessandrini

  2. University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    David Della-Morte

  3. San Raffaele Roma Open University, Rome, Italy

    David Della-Morte

  4. Department of Neurology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    David Della-Morte

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  1. Andrea Viziano
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  2. Alessandro Micarelli
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Correspondence to Andrea Viziano.

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Viziano, A., Micarelli, A., Pasquantonio, G. et al. Perspectives on multisensory perception disruption in idiopathic environmental intolerance: a systematic review. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 91, 923–935 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-018-1346-z

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