Organic solvent-induced bipolar disorder: a case report

Many studies have reported neurological and neuropsychiatric symptoms, including a significantly increased risk of depression and suicide, from exposure to low to moderate levels of organic solvents. However, few studies have reported a link between organic solvent exposure and bipolar disorder. The authors present a case of a 43-y-old man who developed new-onset bipolar disorder following exposure to organic solvents in a textile printing plant. The man had elevated blood levels of several common solvents. His symptoms abated following avoidance of solvent exposures at his workplace and after nutritional and sauna detoxification treatments that one of the authors formulated to clear xenobiotics. Following avoidance and detoxification, the patient's blood concentrations of organic solvents fell to undetectable levels and his manic symptoms disappeared, with no significant recurrences over the past 13 y, as evaluated by the authors and his other physicians.