MCS Research | The Canary Report

Checklist for physicians seeing patients with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Posted by Susie

Sep 052011

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity patients are advised to ask physicians for specific items during an office visit or examination, rather than merely asking for “accommodations.”

MCS America publishes a check list for physicians: Accommodating Multiple Chemical Sensitivity in the Doctor’s Office.

While a chemical- and fragrance-free office would be the most ideal situation, there are still simple ways to accommodate a patient with MCS. It is best to ask the patient what would work for them based on their knowledge and history of MCS. Patients are advised to ask for specific items, rather than merely asking for “accommodations.”

Setting the Appointment
• Provide a first appointment of the day when not many other patients are around and wait time will be minimal.
• Ask the patient what would help to make their visit more comfortable.

Before the Appointment
• Flag the patient’s chart for “allergies.”
• Remove candles, air fresheners, and other scenting devices.

On the Day of the Appointment
• Allow the patient to wait outside or in vehicle when weather permits.
• Provide an isolated room for the patient to wait where contact with other patients is limited.
• Allow the patient to enter through the back door or staff entrance to avoid contact with other patients.
• Refrain from the use of any scented personal care products the day of the appointment.
• Assign unscented staff to work with the patient.

During the Appointment
• Check with the patient before coming into contact with them or administering any medications, including the use of alcohol and latex gloves.
• Provide oxygen, if/when needed.
• If the patient unavoidably experiences a reaction to an exposure, remove the offending substance or person immediately. Move the MCS patient outdoors or to another room with separate ventilation.
• Refrain from using cleaning products, aerosols, and office equipment such as faxes and copiers while the patient is in the building.
• Listen attentively to the patient. They usually know what they are reacting to and how to best remedy the situation.
• Refrain from creating tension and feelings of being misunderstood by telling a patient “try not to think about it” or “relax.” These suggestions are no more effective than telling a diabetic not to think about her low blood sugar emergency. Corrective action is the only way to remedy the emergency.

PDF of full article.
Photo by benchilada.

Resources and information about the peer-reviewed Multiple Chemical Sensitivity research of biochemist Martin Pall, PhD.

Posted by Susie

Jul 152011

Resources and information about the peer-reviewed MCS research of biochemist Martin Pall, PhD.

MCS researcher Martin Pall, PhD

Martin Pall’s research, a review of more than 1,500 references to scientific literature, shows a common causal (etiologic) mechanism for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Fibromyalgia and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: The chronic nature of MCS and also related multisystem illnesses is thought to be produced by a biochemical vicious cycle mechanism, the NO/ONOO- cycle, which is initiated by various stressors that increase nitric oxide and peroxynitrite levels (with some but not others acting via NMDA stimulation).

Click here for a one-page description of Pall’s theory as presented in his book Explaining ‘Unexplained Illnesses’: Disease Paradigm for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Fibromyalgia, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Gulf War Syndrome and Others (2007).

Contact info:
Martin L. Pall, professor emeritus of biochemistry and basic medical sciences, Washington State University.
Research director, Tenth Paradigm Research Group.
Website: www.thetenthparadigm.org
martin_pall@wsu.edu
503.232.3883

Martin Pall explaining elevated nitric oxide and oxidative stress in Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and related illnesses (three-part video, posted 2010):

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

ABSTRACT on Pall’s MCS research, published as chapter 92 in the prestigious reference work for professional toxicologists, General and Applied Toxicology, 3rd Edition (2009, John Wiley & Sons):

Cases of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) are reported to be initiated by seven classes of chemicals. Each of the seven acts along a specific pathway, indirectly producing increases in NMDA activity in the mammalian body. Members of each of these seven classes have their toxicant responses lowered by NMDA antagonists, showing that the NMDA response is important for the toxic actions of these chemicals. The role of these chemicals acting as toxicants, in initiating cases of MCS has been confirmed by genetic evidence showing that six genes that influence the metabolism of these chemicals, all influence susceptibility to MCS. It is likely that chemicals act along these same pathways, leading to increased NMDA activity when they trigger sensitivity responses in MCS patients.

The chronic nature of MCS and also related multisystem illnesses is thought to be produced by a biochemical vicious cycle mechanism, the NO/ONOO- cycle, which is initiated by various stressors that increase nitric oxide and peroxynitrite levels (with some but not others acting via NMDA stimulation). The NO/ONOO- cycle is based on well documented individual mechanisms. The interaction of this cycle with previously documented MCS mechanisms, notably neural sensitization and neurogenic inflammation, explains many of the previously unexplained properties of MCS. This overall mechanism is also supported by physiological correlates found in MCS and related multisystem illnesses, objectively measurable responses to low level chemical exposure in MCS patients, many studies of apparent animal models of MCS and also evidence from therapeutic trials of MCS-related illnesses. Some have argued that MCS is a psychogenic illness, but this view is completely inconsistent with this diverse data on MCS and related illnesses and the literature claiming psychogenesis of MCS is deeply flawed. In addition, two rare predictions that can be used to test psychogenesis both lead to rejection of the psychogenic hypothesis. While the NO/ONOO- cycle mechanism for MCS is supported by many different observations, there are also multiple areas where further study is needed.

To learn more, see this article by Martin Pall in the Townsend Letter: How Can We Cure NO/ONOO− Cycle Diseases? Approaches to Curing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Fibromyalgia, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Gulf War Syndrome and Possibly Many Others (2010). ABSTRACT:

The NO/ONOO− cycle is a biochemical vicious cycle that is thought to cause such diseases as chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), fibromyalgia (FM), and possibly a large number of other chronic inflammatory diseases. The chemistry/biochemistry of the cycle predicts that the primary mechanism is local such the depending on where it is localized in the body, it may cause a variety of different diseases. Previous studies have shown that agents that lower such cycle elements as oxidative stress, nitric oxide, inflammatory responses, mitochondrial dysfunction, tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) depletion and NMDA activity produce clinical improvements in CFS/ME and FM patients, consistent with the predictions of the cycle mechanism. Multiagent protocols lowering several aspects of the cycle appear to be the most promising approaches to therapy. These include an entirely over-the-counter nutritional support protocol developed by the author in conjunction with the Allergy Research Group. However, such mulitagent protocols to date have not produced any substantial numbers of cures of these presumed NO/ONOO− cycle disease. Why is that? This paper argues that what is called the central couplet of the cycle, the reciprocal relation between peroxynitrite elevation and BH4 depletion, is not being adequately downregulated by these multiagent protocols. Ten agents/classes of agents are available, each of which downregulates one or the other end of this central couplet. It is suggested, then, that treatments that simultaneously effectively downregulate both ends to the central couplet, when used along with multiagent protocols lowering other aspects of the cycle and avoidance of stressors that otherwise upregulate the cycle, will lead to substantial numbers of cures of these chronic diseases.

Interview: A conversation with MCS researcher Martin Pall, PhD (2005) by Linda Powers, CBS Interactive Business Network.

Article on Martin Pall, PhD: The NO/ONOO- Oxidative-Inflammatory Disease Model (2007).

An informational flyer about Pall Protocol Antioxidant Suggestions. You can find the supplements at the Allergy Research Group, but most of them are less expensive at ProHealth. (The Canary Report/Susie has no financial interest in either company.)

Articles and interviews with Martin Pall at ProHealth.com:

Radio interview with Martin Pall on WOR Willner Window (2009).

More posts at The Canary Report about Martin Pall’s research.

The above links are posted for informational purposes only. The Canary Report is not responsible for the content of external websites, and the listing does not infer endorsement. Please note that Martin Pall is not a medical doctor and is clear in his writings that MCS symptoms and remedies differ from patient to patient because the tissues impacted differ from one patient to another; he emphasizes that none of his writings are to be taken as medical advice. Check with your doctor before making any change in your supplement regime.

What happens when a builder tries to explain MCS?

Posted by Susie

Jun 242011

Martin Holladay, a former plumbing wholesaler, now senior editor at GreenBuildingAdvisor.com and a builder by trade, writes an article this week entitled Helping People with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity where he takes a stab at defining MCS.

Martin Holladay

Black and Temple explain that in 1996, attendees at a World Health Organization conference in Berlin proposed that the term “idiopathic environmental intolerance” (IEI) be substituted for the collection of symptoms formerly referred to as “multiple chemical sensitivity.” (“Idiopathic” means “of unknown cause.”) Black and Temple note that idiopathic environmental intolerance “is a subjective illness marked by recurrent, nonspecific symptoms attributed to low levels of chemical, biologic, or physical agents. These symptoms occur in the absence of consistent objective diagnostic physical findings or laboratory tests that define an illness. Many experiments and observational studies consistently identify psychopathology in patients with IEI, and implicate behavioral or psychiatric causes for this illness. This indicates that the underlying illness in many cases of IEI is actually a psychiatric disorder, such as a somatoform, depressive, or anxiety disorder.”

I find myself wondering why on Earth is a builder writing an article about the medical aspects of MCS? He was doomed to miss the hundreds of current studies supporting a physiological basis for chemical sensitivity. This document lists over 100 citations for peer-reviewed journal articles that support a physiological basis for MCS, and the 11-year review of the MCS literature by biochemist Martin Pall showing a physiological mechanism for the illness is now published in the prestigious international manual for toxicologists General and Applied Toxicology, 3rd Edition. By the way, Martin Pall does a great job destroying the “psychopathology” argument in this post.

While I appreciate Mr Holladay’s interest in the use of nontoxic building materials in homes for people with MCS, he ought to stick with his own area of expertise and leave the medical analysis on MCS to those who keep up with the current research. His article does more far more harm than good to the MCS community.

What is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity?

Posted by Contributor

Apr 252011

When you have MCS and you are exposed to certain toxic chemical agents, a series of symptoms are initiated automatically like irritation of the respiratory tract, tachycardia, headaches, mental confusion, dizziness, nausea, extreme fatigue or pain. These symptoms don’t get better until you cease contact with the chemical agent that produced it. The symptoms can last days or even weeks.

Eva Caballé

By contributor Eva Caballé, Spain.

What is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity?

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is an acquired chronic illness, not a psychological one, which manifests itself with multisystemic symptoms as a reaction to a very small exposure to chemical products, normal everyday chemicals but unnecessary ones, like perfumes, air fresheners or laundry softeners.

The symptoms, which are chronic and they become acute in a crisis, include fatigue and respiratory, digestive, cardiovascular, dermatological and neurological problems.

MCS is a syndrome with four grades of severity, so not all of us who are sick suffer the same level of disability and isolation.

It is important to note that MCS is not an allergy.

It is an illness which has been known since the 1950s, but it has yet to be recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), despite that there are more than 100 research articles that support the organic basis of MCS, that the number of people affected is increasing rapidly, at a younger age, and that the European Parliament includes MCS in the growing number of illnesses related to environmental factors. MCS has already recognized as a physical disease in Germany, Austria and Japan.

What percentage of the population has MCS?

There are no studies in Spain, but it is thought to be affected between 0.5% and 12% of the general population, according to the grade.

In countries where there are statistics about this illness, we see that the amount of people that have MCS is not small. According to the Environmental Health Association of Quebec, 2.4% of Canadians have MCS. According to Professor Martin L. Pall, PhD, the prevalence of severe MCS in the U.S is approximately 3.5% of the population.

So MCS is not a “rare disease,” which are the ones that affect less than 0.05% of the population. MCS is an emerging and hidden disease.

Chemical products are toxic and they affect us all. Chemical products are linked to illness like cancer, asthma, allergies, autoimmune diseases or any other illness of environmental origin.

How can you know that you are developing MCS?

The most common symptom is to notice unbearable chemicals which one did not notice before. One stops tolerating various chemical agents like cleaning products, perfumes, tobacco smoke, car emissions, air fresheners, etc.

You also may stop tolerating alcohol, dairy products or gluten. You also may develop intolerance to various foods and medications.

Often there are other environmental intolerances: to heat, to cold, to noise, to vibrations, to sunlight and to electromagnetic fields (computers, high power lines, telephones, cellular phone antennas, microwaves, etc).

MCS entails the loss of tolerance of chemical products in susceptible persons and there are two ways of developing MCS: from one single exposure to toxics at a high dose (fumigation, for example) or by many exposures to small amounts over the years. In the second group there are an increasing number of people with CFS/ME and FMS who, with the years, also develop MCS.

How is MCS diagnosed?

The diagnosis is clinical, based on the symptoms. There are no tests to diagnose MCS and other medical conditions must first be ruled out.

For the diagnosis, doctors use the questionnaire QEESI (Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory) which is a sensitive and fast questionnaire instrument with five scales used to evaluate a person’s level of chemical sensitivity or intolerance.

6 consensus criteria for the definition of MCS:

A chronic condition.
Symptoms recur reproducibly.
Symptoms recur in response to low levels of chemical exposure.
Symptoms occur when exposed to multiple unrelated chemicals.
Symptoms improve or resolve when trigger chemicals are removed.
Multiple organ systems are affected.

When you have MCS and you are exposed to certain toxic chemical agents, a series of symptoms are initiated automatically like choking, irritation of the respiratory tract, tachycardia, headaches, mental confusion, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, extreme fatigue and/or pain. These symptoms don’t get better until you stop being in contact with the chemical agent that produced it. The symptoms can last days or even weeks.

How is MCS treated?

Because of the pathophysiological bases of this syndrome are still unknown, there is no specific treatment for MCS. But there are a lot of treatments that help to control MCS and improve our health (sauna, supplements, homeopathy, etc.), and it’s very important to find a specialized doctor who studies our case, because each patient is different, depending on the genetic, the associated pathologies and the MCS grade.

Besides the treatment, is very important to put into practice the Environmental Control. Environmental Control is to basically avoid, as much as possible, any exposure to toxics or chemical substances. But in spite of this, MCS is chronic and persistent and it can reduce the quality of life of the sufferers.

Environmental Control is to avoid the chemicals or foods that may trigger reactions, avoid humid environments and avoid environments that could cause irritation (smoke, gas). This requires that we substitute all beauty and cleaning products with ecological ones without aroma; eat organic and non-processed foods (eliminate those we don’t tolerate) cooked using non-toxic cookware; filter the drinking water and also the water for cooking and showering; use a carbon-filter mask in situations in which there are a high concentration of toxics; get an air purifier; use ecological clothing with organic fabrics and organic dyes; avoid or minimize exposure to electromagnetic fields and in general remove everything that that we don’t tolerate (furniture, clothing, cosmetics, etc.). Sometimes is even necessary to change our residence. The Environmental Control benefits the MCS sufferer and also his entire family and it’s recommended for people with allergies or asthma in other countries. It’s also recommended for people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia.

Environmental Control: basic guidelines and tips (in Spanish).

Scientific evidence

In September 2008, was published the study “Is multiple chemical sensitivity a learned response? A critical evaluation of provocation studies” by Goudsmit and Howes at Journal of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine, which concluded that MCS is related to chemicals and it’s not a psychological illness.

In May 2009, Professor Anne C. Steinemann and Amy L. Davis of the University of Washington published a compilation of research on MCS with more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles that support a physiological basis for MCS.

After that compilation, 2 important studies have been published:

In October 2009, the Journal of the Neurological Sciences published the study “Brain dysfunction in multiple chemical sensitivity” done by the Department Of Pulmonology of the Hospital Vall Hebron of Barcelona (Spain).

And at the end of April 2010 has been published the study “Biological definition of multiple chemical sensitivity from redox state and cytokine profiling and not from polymorphisms of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes” done by the IDI Institute of Rome (Italy) at the Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology – Elsevier.

Also last year, General and Applied Toxicology, 3rd Edition, published a chapter on MCS done by Researcher Martin Pall, PhD entitled “Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Toxicological Questions and Mechanisms.”

~~~

Eva Caballé is an economist from Barcelona, Spain, author of the book Desaparecida: Una vida rota por la Sensibilidad Química Múltiple (Missing: A life broken by Multiple Chemical Sensitivity) published in Spanish by El Viejo Topo, Barcelona, Spain, 2009. She authors NO FUN, a Spanish blog with an English section about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, with information and advice for people who are sick or who want to live a healthier life free of toxics. She is a regular contributor at The Canary Report and at the art magazine Delirio (Delirium).

Australian chemical safety office releases final report on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, key research needs identified

Posted by Susie

Nov 302010

AUSTRALIA: The controversial and troubled report on “A Scientific Review of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Identifying Key Research Needs” has finally been released.

By contributor Harry Clark, President, MCS Society of Australia, Inc.

The flag of Australia.

Harry Clark

Hot off the press! The controversial and troubled review on “A Scientific Review of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Identifying Key Research Needs” has finally been released. I’ll be reading it over the next few days.

Reading the submissions made to the report is a worthwhile and illuminating exercise. Dr Colin Little, who sees people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity in Victoria, has made a submission, as has biochemist and MCS researcher Prof Martin Pall, WA Greens Hon Giz Watson, some MCS organisations, individuals, SA Health and so on (and my submission via MCS Society of Australia is there too).

Happy reading!

Below is the broadcast notification from Australia’s National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS):

I am pleased to inform you that the joint National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) and the Office of Chemical Safety and Environmental Health’s (OCSEH) final report titled “A Scientific Review of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Identifying Key Research Needs” is now available from the NICNAS website at http://www.nicnas.gov.au/Current_Issues/MCS.asp

NICNAS/OCSEH released the draft report for comment in February 2010 and NICNAS contacted all who submitted comments to the draft report on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) requesting permission to place submissions on the NICNAS website. The submissions to the draft MCS report are also now available. These can be accessed from the NICNAS website at http://www.nicnas.gov.au/Current_Issues/MCS.asp

All submissions have been considered in the revision of the draft MCS report, regardless of publication, or otherwise, on the NICNAS website.

A hardcopy of the report is currently being developed and will be available shortly. If you would like to receive a hardcopy of the report please do not hesitate to contact myself on the details below.

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown
Admin Assistant
NICNAS – National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme
Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing

T + 61 2 8577 8870
F + 61 2 8577 8888
E julie.brown@nicnas.gov.au

Guest Blog: International symposium on chemical pollution and environmental diseases held in Rome

Posted by Guest Blogger

Sep 272010

A prestigious group of international researchers, scholars, scientists and physicians met in Italy last week for a symposium on New Environmental Diseases. The event was held at the Chamber of Deputees Congress Hall, Rome, and was organized by the Association for Environmental and Chronic Toxic Injury.

By guest blogger Francesca Romana Orlando

Symposium, with audience in theater style chairs and panel up at front on raised platform with lecturns and PowerPoint screens.

A prestigious international group of scholars, scientists and physicians met in Rome Friday to present their findings on New Environmental Diseases. Photo courtesy of Associazione Malattie da Intossicazione Cronica e/o Ambientale.

A prestigious group of international scholars, scientists and physicians met in Rome Friday for a symposium on New Environmental Diseases. The researchers presented their current findings on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Electromagnetic Hyper Sensitivity, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, with some discussion about other emerging neuro-degenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s also called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

The symposium was held at the Chamber of Deputees Congress Hall and was organized by the Association for Environmental and Chronic Toxic Injury (Associazione Malattie da Intossicazione Cronica e/o Ambientale or AMICA), the Italian organization that works for the rights of people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) and Electromagnetic Hyper Sensitivity (EHS).

Supporting AMICA on the event organization was MeP Domenico Scilipoti, an oncologist and holistic doctor who has drafted law on environmental diseases and disabilities and for the phase out of dental amalgams.

“More and more scientific evidence shows how daily chemical exposures at low doses can affect our health,” said Francesca Romana Orlando, vice president of AMICA. “With this event we would like to create a bridge between science and politics in order to have a new legislation particularly for the protection of those affected by Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Electromagnetic Hyper Sensitivity, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia; these diseases seem to be correlated one to the other.”

Orlando has just published the book Il Cerchio Perfetto (The Perfect Circle), about the link between industry, politics, academics and media and its role in the hiding of toxic dangers to the public opinion.

“Just a few weeks ago at the Senate Commission for Health the debate about the draft laws for the recognition of MCS as an epidemic diseases started: the prevalence of this illness is about 10% of the population and in Italy the patients still don’t have any hospital where to get any medical treatment in a proper environment,” said Silvia Bigeschi, who also serves as a vice president at AMICA.

There are 10 initiatives currently underway at the Italian Parliament working toward laws for the recognition of MCS as an epidemic disease. Just the day before the environmental diseases event, AMICA presented a petition with more than 10,000 signatures asking for the approval of a law for MCS. AMICA also presented a petition to the Ministry of Health for the total phase out of dental mercury, since many cases of MCS, CFS and EHS seem to be triggered by amalgams.

Last week’s symposium was divided into four sessions.

The first session was about diagnostic approaches for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia (FM). Prof. Giuseppe Genovesi of the University of Rome La Sapienza and Dr. Chiara De Luca, head of the laboratory BILARA at the Dermatological Institute Immacolata of Rome, presented the results of a study on oxidative stress and genetics in MCS patients, which was recently published in Toxicology Applied Pharmacology (2010 Apr 26).

While Dr. De Luca focused on the clear evidence of oxidative stress in these patients, such as the lack of enzyme catalasis and GST, Prof. Genovesi stressed the fact that the results don’t show the prevalence of one specific genetic polymorphism, but most of the patients had one or more genetic factors inducing a lower de-toxification. He also announced that they are going to test the genetic predisposition of the enzyme catalasis, since this is so typically low in MCS patients.

Dr. Alberto Migliore, the chief of Rheumatology Department at the S. Pietro Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Rome, who published a study about the comorbidity of MCS and Sjogren Syndrome, also presented. Dr. Lorenzo Bettoni presented a lecture about the environmental causes of CFS and FM, with an hypothesis about the role of chemicals, Electro-Magnetic Frequency (EMF) pollution and physical/mental stress triggering these illnesses.

Dr. Giacomo Rao, who works for the Italian National Insurance of Workers (INAIL is the public institute that gives compensation and pension to workers injured at the workplace), talked about the legal aspects of the recognition of these illnesses as a disability. He showed that there are several impact life factors to consider and that in Italy there are now many MCS disability certificates, even if it is always very difficult to convince the commissions about the severity of this illness. He added that the final judgment depends only on the good will of the commissioners to study a new issue.

In the second session, entitled “New Paradigms of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine,” Martin L. Pall, professor emeritus of biochemistry and basic medical sciences at Washington State University, US, presented his theory about the biochemical vicious cycle ON/ONOO-, induced by the combination of high NOS activity and Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) depletion, and how it is able to explain not only MCS, CFS and FM, but also other emerging neuro-degenerative illnesses such Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). He commented that the De Luca-Genovesi study about oxidative stress represents a full confirmation of his theory.

Dr. Peter Ohnsorge, president of the European Academy for Environmental Medicine (EUROPAEM), has already applied Pall’s theory to his clinical approach in order to reduce NMDA in the cerebral metabolism. He proceeds in treating inflammation first by supplementing enzymes, antioxidants, minerals and vitamins. Then he offers a chelation therapy when possible, and also hemapheresis (Membrane Differential Filtration), gut therapy and detoxification. He also uses sauna therapy since the heat helps to increase BH4 and to oppose the vicious NO/ONOO- cycle.

Recently, Dr. Ohnsorge was commissioned by the German Ministry of Health and Social Affairs a controlled randomized study about the efficacy of therapies in MCS patients with the double aim of detoxification of lipophilic toxins and of improving the complaints. He found out that using a complex therapeutic regime usually leads the patients to recover slowly, but consequently.

The MCS people in the audience asked him several questions, for example about the bad secondary effects of supplementation of glutathione (GSH) and about the tests of compatibility of drugs and dental materials. He explained that supplementation has to be given always with very low doses at the beginning in order to avoid violent breaks in the de-toxification mechanisms. Moreover, he suggested to use the Lymphocite Transformation Test (LTT) to find out late reactions to drugs, metals, plastics and environmental toxins, while the basophil degranulation test is suggested when there is the suspect of inflammation induced by metals, like in the case of titanium implants.

Also in the second session, Dr. Ernesto Burgio, Coordinator of the Scientific Committee of ISDE Italia (Doctors for the Environment), gave a lecture about the epigenetic damages caused by environmental toxins and EMFs. The epigenome represents the interface between the information from the environment and the genome and, even in the absence of chromosomal or gene mutations, there still can be a change in the expression of the gene (DNA Methylation) because of an epigenomic injury. “With a few exceptions, cellular differentiation almost never involves a change in the DNA sequence itself,” he said. Since the environment changed too quickly in the latest decades, the capacity of adaptation of the (epi) genome is not enough to compensate it. Thus, a toxic exposure of the parents, in the womb or during the early childhood can induce to a chronic disabling illness later in life. New studies are exploring how a lead exposure as infants can be associated to Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-like symptoms years later or how the mother’s exposure to high levels of folic acid, vitamin B12 or to cigarette smoke can induce epigenetic changes that can repress gene transcription and, then, induce phenotypes of asthma (i.e. allergic airway inflammation) in the offspring. These findings could lead to the conclusion that our society is on the edge of a “disevolution.”

In the third session, entitled “Heavy Metals Toxicity, Dr. Raimondo Pische, president of the International Academy of Bio-Dentistry (AIOB), talked about the risks associated with the exposure to metals in dental amalgams. In particular, he presented a video of an amalgam filling showing how mercury vapors are easily released by the amalgam. He underlined the fact that dentists are the first ones at risk when they fill and remove amalgam fillings and that dental mercury represents the main source of exposure to mercury vapors in non occupational environments. This is no longer acceptable since mercury is the most toxic element in nature after the radioactive elements.

Dr. Antonello Maria Pasciuto, Italian member of the European Academy for Environmental Medicine (EUROPAEM), talked about the LTT-MELISA, the Lymphocite Transformation Test for the proof of late allergy to metals (type IV). This kind of allergy was observed in patients with MCS, CFS, Multiple sclerosis or MS, FM, ALS and autoimmune diseases and it usually improves, as well as the symptoms, after the safe removal of dental metals.

Dr. Gianpaolo Guzzi of the Italian Organization for the Research on Metals and Biocompatibility (AIRMEB) talked about the side effects of chelation therapies. His group studied hundreds of patients with amalgam toxic load and they reviewed the effects of EDTA, DMPS, DMSA and Gluthatione. EDTA seems to redistribute metals without really getting rid of them, while DMPS seems more effective on treating elemental mercury, but with severe side effects in some cases. DMSA works to detoxify from methylmercury and it can also get rid of elemental mercury stocked in the kidneys. Recently Dr. Guzzi’s research group is testing the efficacy of Gluthatione in metal detoxification since there aren’t studies about it.

In the last session, “EMF and Health,” Dr. Fiorenzo Marinelli, researcher of the Institute of Molecular Genetics (IGM) in Bologna, talked about wireless technologies such as mobile phones, Wi-Fi and Wi-Max. He pointed out the fact that thermal effects are only a part of the biological effects of Electro-Magnetic Fields, but still these are the only ones considered by international safety standard limits. There also are other effects induced by the signal information itself. This explains why, even though UMTS has usually a lower intensity of the signal compared to GSM, it uses a wider band of frequencies, then involving a greater risk of damage in the DNA, as the recent European Reflex study showed. His research group has recently studied the effects of radars and Wi-Fi and the preliminary findings show that both these kind of EMFs promote cell proliferation (2010).

Since scientific literature clearly demonstrates that EMF in our everyday life can induce DNA breakage, genetic disregulation as well as chromosomal breakage, increase of free radicals, alteration of neurotransmitters, memory loss, hypersensitivity-allergy, aging and possibly cancer, Dr. Marinelli supports the reduction of the safety limit of exposure to 0,6 V/m, as requested by the International Commission for the Electromagnetic Safety (ICEMS) since 2002.

Finally, Olle Johansson, associate professor at the Experimental Dermatology Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, and professor at the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, who also serves as a member of the famous Bioinitiative Working Group, presented a lecture about Electro-Hyper-Sensitivity, which is fully recognized as a functional impairment in Sweden. He explained not only the bioeffects of EMF on EHS people, but also the social problem of disability in our modern societies.

“Disability is everywhere and it can happen to anyone: I myself have a disability when I am in Italy because I can not speak Italian,” Johansson commented. He reminded those in attendance that all modern democracies signed international equal rights United Nations treaties, but still leave these principles unrealized when it comes to environmental disability.

For more information, contact:
Francesca Romana Orlando
Vice President
Associazione Malattie da Intossicazione Cronica e/o Ambientale (AMICA)
(Association for Environmental and Chronic Toxic Injury)
P.O. Box 3131
00121 Rome, Italy
www.infoamica.it/english
amica@infoamica.it

Guest Blog: MCS activists in Denmark report their alarm about the Danish Research Centre for Chemical Sensitivities

Posted by Guest Blogger

Aug 242010

Alert! The Danish Research Centre for Chemical Sensitivities is striving to clearly influence the international science of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Among its activities, the Centre is on the lookout for “psychological factors” in MCS patients.

By guest blogger Silvia K. Müller, Chemical Sensitivity Network, Germany.

Artist's rendering of Dänemark flagge.

Dear Friends,

Silvia Müller

In January 2006, at the initiative of the Ministry of the Environment, a Research Centre for Chemical Sensitivities was founded in Denmark. The Center was designed to offer treatments to those with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and research fragrance sensitivities in more detail. The initial hope that originally flowed through this center, funded by the Ministry, was to benefit MCS sufferers and to delve into medical science for those affected. Unfortunately, this hope has been shattered by recent publications from the Centre.

Environmental health professionals and organizations must be well informed about the events in other countries and it appears that the Danish Research Centre for Chemical Sensitivities is striving to clearly influence the international science of MCS.

The following series is written by Danish MCS Activists.

“The Danish MCS Research Centre in the International Field of Vision”

Part I: MCS – Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: A Report from Denmark.

The Danish Research Center for Chemical Sensitivities is on the lookout for “psychological factors” in MCS patients:

In 2006, The Danish Research Centre for Chemical Sensitivities was established on the initiative of the Danish Ministry of the Environment. It soon became evident that the purpose of this research center was to have the environment acquitted, so to speak, of the charge of causing MCS. Time and again patients heard the then Head of Research Jesper Elberling, MD, PhD, announce that the environment should probably not be blamed for the problems.

The Research Center has no experts of toxicology or environmental medicine among its staff. Instead, the new Head of Research Sine Skovbjerg, MSc, PhD, a former nurse, and her staff, focus on counting and documenting various “psychological factors” among patients. Her view is that MCS should be studied as a somatoform disorder and that MCS can be cured by so-called mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

Part II: Changes of the international science of chemical sensitivity at the Danish Research Centre for Chemical Sensitivities?

In April 2010, an independent group of Italian scientists (De Luca et al.) published their research results, “Biological definition of multiple chemical sensitivity from redox state and cytokine profiling and not from polymorphisms of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes.”

In July 2010, the Danish Research Centre for Chemical Sensitivities and Fragrance Sensitivity reported on their website, (which in the opinion of many Danish MCS sufferers is very questionable research, with the main emphasis on mental health):

“As the Italian findings are the first of their kind, it is necessary to verify the results in other studies before drawing a conclusion on immunological factors in MCS.

“The Danish Research Centre for Chemical Sensitivities therefore plans to study levels of transmitter substances in patients with MCS, independent of contact allergy” (emphasis added).

Part III: Paradox – Danish MCS sufferers are denied help because of the lack of scientific documentation – which nobody wants to obtain!

Until 2008, it was a common practice in Denmark for local authorities to grant severe MCS sufferers free aid under the service law, section 122, by giving them half mask respirators with activated charcoal filters. In 2008, a severe female MCS sufferer had her application rejected by the local authorities for this respirator. This case ended at the Danish appeals board.

To the MCS sufferer’s great astonishment and despair, the MCS Research Center, however, published on its homepage that they were not going to research the effects of half mask respirators with activated charcoal filters on the MCS population. Their arguments, were among others, was that an investigation into the effects of mask respirators on MCS sufferers would require a clinically controlled study, and such a study must be both placebo-controlled and double-blind in order for the results to become reliable and useful.

Instead, the Research Center regards electroconvulsive therapy of MCS sufferers as interesting.

Best regards from Germany,

Silvia K. Müller

CSN – Chemical Sensitivity Network

Ask the Canary: Does Multiple Chemical Sensitivity have anything to do with the sense of smell?

Posted by Susie

Jul 082010

Does Multiple Chemical Sensitivity have anything to do with the sense of smell?

What role does the sense of smell play in MCS?

What role does our sense of smell and the olfactory system play in Multiple Chemical Sensitivity? Do people with MCS have a heightened sense of smell?

Thank you,
A Nosy Canary

Aloha Nosy!

I am often asked these questions. The first point I always clarify is that MCS does not center on our sense of smell or an olfactory response. To understand this better, let’s review the cause of MCS.

Current research shows that MCS is initiated by a previous toxic chemical exposure from one or more of seven classes of chemicals, notably organic solvents (volatile organic compounds or VOCs), three classes of pesticides, mercury, and/or carbon monoxide. Toxic mold exposure also is reported to initiate MCS, and we find this cause most often in people with MCS who have lived or worked in “sick buildings” that have a toxic mold infestation (Pall, 2009).

So the first thing to understand is that despite many descriptions of MCS that you may find on the Web and elsewhere saying that the olfactory system has a central role in MCS, there is no evidence supporting that claim and in fact, there is considerable evidence against such a role. There are cases of MCS in people with no sense of smell– in fact we have several members of our community who have no sense of smell and also have severe cases of MCS.

Many people with MCS report symptoms of a chemical exposure without any chemical odor. I personally have had this happen: while sitting in my livingroom one day I was overcome with feeling ill, dizzy with loss of cognitive ability, only to discover the neighbor was spraying some sort of herbicide that had no odor.

There are three studies of MCS patients where a nose clip was used to block off access of odors and the MCS patients still reacted to toxic chemicals (Joffres et al, 2005; Millqvist and Lowhagan, 1996; Millqvist et al, 1999).

This is not to say that the olfactory system is never impacted in people with MCS, but rather that it does not play a central role in cause.

To explain this, I’d like to refer to the work of MCS researcher Martin Pall, professor emeritus of biochemistry and basic medical sciences at Washington State University. Pall’s research on MCS is widely published in books and articles, the most recent of which is a chapter in the authoritative international reference manual for professional toxicologists, General and Applied Toxicology, 3rd Edition, 2009.

Pall’s review of the literature and other research he’s conducted over the past eleven years show the probable cause of MCS is a biochemical mechanism involving nitric oxide (NO) and peroxynitrite (ONOO-), what Pall calls the NO/ONOO- cycle. Pall describes MCS, also known as chemical sensitivity and toxicant-induced loss of tolerance (TILT), as a disease initiated by toxic chemical exposure, leading to brain injury that produces high level sensitivity to the same set of chemicals that cause the disease. To get a little deeper into the science: all seven classes of chemicals mentioned at the top of my answer are thought to act indirectly to increase the activity of NMDA receptors, which are glutamate receptors for controlling synaptic plasticity and memory function. This activity, in turn, leads to rapid increases in intracellular calcium (Ca2+), nitric oxide, and peroxynitrite (ONOO-), acting to greatly stimulate the NO/ONOO- cycle. That cycle is what causes our myriad symptoms.

So how does this impact our olfactory system? Do people with MCS have a heightened sense of smell? Let’s ask Martin Pall.

“MCS is not primarily a defect in the olfactory system,” Pall says. “But when the olfactory system is impacted by the NO/ONOO- cycle it will impact the sense of smell. This is because both the NMDA receptors and nitric oxide have roles in the olfactory mechanism. However what impact the cycle has, varies from person to person, possibly depending on the severity of the cycle in that region of the body. Some people report being much more sensitive to odors but others are anosmic, completely devoid of the sense of smell.”

Aloha,
Susie

Photo credit.

Predictions of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity mechanism confirmed by Roman study

Posted by Susie

Jul 052010

A recent study conducted by a research group in Rome is significant in regard to Martin Pall’s NO/ONOO- cycle theory on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity because it shows that three elements of the cycle are elevated in MCS patients.

Martin L. Pall, Ph.D.

Portland, OR – July 5, 2010 – The physiological mechanism for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity proposed by biochemist Martin L. Pall has been confirmed with the recent findings of an independent research group in Rome.

Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), also known as chemical sensitivity and toxicant-induced loss of tolerance (TILT), is a disease initiated by toxic chemical exposure, leading to toxic brain injury that produces high level sensitivity to the same set of chemicals that are implicated in initiation of the disease. Sensitivity responses in other areas of the body are also often seen.

“Epidemiological studies show that MCS is a stunningly common disease, even more common than diabetes,” said Pall, professor emeritus of biochemistry and basic medical sciences at Washington State University. “My review of the literature and other research I’ve conducted over the past eleven years shows the probable central mechanism of MCS is a biochemical vicious mechanism, known as the NO/ONOO- cycle.”

Pall’s work is widely published in books and articles, the most recent of which is a chapter in the authoritative international reference manual for professional toxicologists, General and Applied Toxicology, 3rd Edition, 2009 (chapter 92).

The NO/ONOO- cycle, pronounced no-oh-no, is named for the chemical structures of nitric oxide (NO) and peroxynitrite (ONOO-). This biochemical vicious cycle mechanism predicts that each of the elements linked together in the cycle are elevated in patients suffering from MCS and related diseases. Most of the elements of the cycle have been shown to be elevated in such related diseases as chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia and also in animal models of MCS. However, several cycle elements have never been measured in MCS patients.

The recent study conducted by the research group in Rome is significant in regard to the NO/ONOO- cycle theory because it shows that three elements of the cycle are elevated in MCS patients (De Luca et al, Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 2010, April 27 Epub ahead of print). Those elements are the inflammatory cytokines, nitric oxide, and oxidative stress. Each of these measurements provides important confirmation of the disease mechanism proposed by Pall.

The inflammatory cytokines and nitric oxide elevation have never before been measured in MCS patients, although they have been shown to be elevated in animal models of MCS. Oxidative stress has been reported in two earlier studies of MCS patients, but the data provided in the De Luca et al study are much more extensive than are the earlier data. Consequently, these new data all provide important confirmation of the NO/ONOO- cycle as the central disease mechanism in MCS.

The NO/ONOO- cycle also is useful in understanding the role of toxic chemicals in MCS and the role of treatment. Each of the seven classes of chemicals implicated are thought to act indirectly to increase the activity of the NMDA receptors, which are glutamate receptors for controlling synaptic plasticity and memory function. This activity, in turn, leads to rapid increases in intracellular calcium (Ca2+), nitric oxide and peroxynitrite (ONOO-), acting to greatly stimulate the NO/ONOO- cycle.

“Many of the agents used by environmental medicine physicians to treat MCS patients can be viewed as lowering different parts of the cycle, and thus are validated in part by this mechanism,” Pall said. “Consequently, the NO/ONOO- cycle mechanism can be viewed as validating therapeutic approaches used in environmental medicine in the U.S., in Germany and some other areas of Europe and in some other countries.”

Contact:
Martin L. Pall, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Basic Medical Sciences
Washington State University
503-232-3883
martin_pall@wsu.edu
thetenthparadigm.org

###

Here is the abstract of the Roman study:

PMID: 20430047 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

1: Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2010 Apr 26; [Epub ahead of print]

Biological definition of multiple chemical sensitivity from redox state and cytokine profiling and not from polymorphisms of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes.

De Luca C, Scordo MG, Cesareo E, Pastore S, Mariani S, Maiani G, Stancato A, Loreti B, Valacchi G, Lubrano C, Raskovic D, De Padova L, Genovesi G, Korkina LG.

Laboratory of Tissue Engineering & Skin Pathophysiology, Dermatology Institute (IDI IRCCS), Rome, Italy.

BACKGROUND: Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is a poorly clinically and biologically defined environment-associated syndrome. Although dysfunctions of phase I / phase II metabolizing enzymes and redox imbalance have been hypothesized, corresponding genetic and metabolic parameters in MCS have not been systematically examined.

OBJECTIVES: We sought for genetic, immunological, and metabolic markers in MCS.

METHODS: We genotyped patients with diagnosis of MCS, suspected MCS and Italian healthy control&n bsp;s for allelic variants of cytochrome P450 isoforms (CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, and CYP3A5), UDP-glucuronosyl transferase (UGT1A1), and glutathione S-transferases (GSTP1, GSTM1, and GSTT1). Erythrocyte membrane fatty acids, antioxidant (catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD)) and glutathione metabolizing (GST, glutathione peroxidase (Gpx)) enzymes, whole blood chemiluminescence, total antioxidant capacity, levels of nitrites/nitrates, glutathione, HNE-protein adducts, and a wide spectrum of cytokines in the plasma were determined.

RESULTS: Allele and genotype frequencies of CYPs, UGT, GSTM, GSTT, and GSTP were similar in the Italian MCS patients and in the control populations. The activities of erythrocyte catalase and GST were lower, whereas Gpx was higher than normal. Both reduced and oxidised glutathione were decreased, whereas nitrites/nitrates were increased in the MCS groups. The MCS fatty acid profile was shifted to saturated compartment and IFNgamma, IL-8, IL-10, MCP-1, PDGFbb, and VEGF were increased.

CONCLUSIONS: Altered redox and cytokine patterns suggest inhibition of expression/activity of metabolizing and antioxidant enzymes in MCS. Metabolic parameters indicating accelerated lipid oxidation, increased nitric oxide production and glutathione depletion in combination with increased plasma inflammatory cytokines should be considered in biological definition and diagnosis of MCS. Copyright (c) 2010.
Published by Elsevier Inc.

Guest Blog: Psychiatrists propose induced convulsions as treatment for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Posted by Guest Blogger

Apr 262010

A recent study published in the psychiatric Journal of Electroconvulsive Therapy proposes to treat Multiple Chemical Sensitivity with electroconvulsive therapy or ECT, originally known as electroshock therapy.

By guest blogger Lourdes Salvador, MCS America.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was originally known as electroshock therapy and was widely used to treat depression before the development of psycho pharmaceutical drugs such as antidepressants and anxiolytics.

A study published in February in the Journal of Electroconvulsive Therapy, by Jesper Elberlinig MD, Nils Gulmann, and Alice Rasmussen, has declared that “a substantial, positive effect on symptom severity and social disability related to MCS was obtained by an initial ECT course and maintenance treatment. Electroconvulsive therapy should be considered an option in severe and socially disabling MCS.”

The researchers of this study claim that “no effective treatment has been reported” for MCS. This is clearly untrue, which leads one to wonder what the ulterior motives of the researchers are. Avoidance and safe housing have both been reported as effective treatments with a statistically significant success ratio of over 95% improved. Everything industry does to discredit people with MCS completely ignores that safe environments alleviate symptoms. It is simply not true that “nothing works.”

Abstract

Electroshock therapy originated in Berlin in 1927 when Manfred J. Sakel accidentally overdosed a diabetic patient with insulin, leading to convulsions and a sudden improvement in the patient’s schizophrenia. Sakel proceeded to treat schizophrenics with what came to be known as “Sakel’s Technique.” Eventually, it was realized that insulin therapy was dangerous, oftentimes resulted in the death of the patient, was temporary, and thus was not a real cure.

In 1934, Ladislaus J. von Meduna developed another method of inducing convulsions with a drug called Metrazol. The convulsions induced by this drug were so dramatic that they resulted in spinal fractures in nearly half the patients. The treatment was considered far too dangerous and was stressful for psychiatrists to perform while the patient screamed and convulsed wildly on the table.

Lobotomies became popular in 1935. A method called the “ice-pick lobotomy” was popularly used on over a million people. The lobotomy involved inserting an ice pick under the eye and moving it around to damage and chop up the pre-frontal cortex of the brain and then retracting it. This left patients a permanently brain damaged zombie state, a benefit for psychiatric hospital staff. But, it was not a cure either.

Electroconvulsive therapy came on the scene in 1937 and was developed by Ugo Cerletti and Lucio Bini after they discovered that shocking animals temporarily stunned them without killing them. They soon turned to administering electroshock therapy to human subjects. ECT was marketed as a more acceptable form of electroshock therapy because patients were restrained and sedated with anesthesia and paralyzing drugs to control their screams and movement. This “more pleasant” way of damaging and numbing the brain with electroshock was used to mislead people to believe it was a new, pleasant, and safe method of effective psychosurgery.

However, many report that ECT is a barbaric process of inducing seizures and convulsions. A few people who have undergone ECT later committed suicide as a result. Others have lived to post their horrific tales of hurt in videos on YouTube. Many have permanent brain damage. Some have died.

In the new MCS study by Elberlinig, Gulmann, and Rasmussen, ECT was performed on a single subject with MCS. This is not scientifically valid in terms of findings. Those familiar with science and statistics will be familiar with the bell curve. If you take one hundred people and plot their test values on a line, you will usually discover a bell curve. The bell curve has most of the subjects at its highest point, roughly 90–95%. A few subjects will fall on either side of the bell and are known as outliers. With a study on a single subject, there is no valid way to determine whether the subject was an average person at the top of the bell, or an outlier.

The results were described in terms of the perceived improvement of “symptom severity and social disability.” This is quite different from measured improvements such as reduced hepatic toxicity and better liver function. The abstract does not even provide the diagnostic criteria used to determine the diagnosis; therefore, it can not be determined whether the subject truly had MCS.

In the study, the patient had to undergo ECT eight times and then have bi-weekly ECT treatments to maintain the “improvement.” We must consider that more and more people are being injured and developing MCS. If people can’t live without going in for bi-weekly ECT, something is wrong with the larger picture of toxic environmental exposures. In nature, we are supposed to be able to survive without being hooked up to machines and drugs. In nature, we DID and DO survive without being hooked up to these things. A safe, clean environment alleviates symptoms and PREVENTS injuries leading to MCS in the first place.

In another study, Resertson and Pryor emphasize the important truth that “clinicians should fully inform patients of the possible permanent adverse effects of the treatment, which include amnesia, memory disability, and cognitive disability” (Robertson, H. & Pryor, R. 2006. Memory and cognitive effects of ECT: informing and assessing patients. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 12,228-237).

A journal such as this study was published in, which is dedicated to ECT, isn’t going to do anything other than find and support ways to use ECT for everything and anything. Even psychiatry has largely abandoned it in favor of psychiatric drugs. If psychiatric drugs don’t cure MCS, why would ECT?

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights has some eye opening videos of the true history of psychiatry with their own inadvertent capability of numbing one from the horrors of what psychiatry is really about. Be patient while the site loads and then go to the “museum” on the top menu. This video covers the history of ECT specifically.

No matter how you look at it, ECT is not a cure and certainly not an ideal thing to keep doing to the sensitive brain, particularly if one is electrosensitive.

Lourdes Salvador is the founder of MCS America, a science writer, and a social advocate for the greater awareness of environmental contamination and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).

Photo credit