Toxicological mechanisms in acute and chronic nervous system degeneration

A brief survey on the nature of neurotoxic effects of various industrially important chemicals and contaminants is given. The effects are divided in acute and chronic. The mechanisms of acute hypoxic and histotoxic nervous system degeneration are presented and compared with the acute solvent actions in the nervous system. Chronic nervous system degeneration is caused by cumulative effects of metabolic products of the absorbed chemicals or by the cumulative burden of e.g. metal ions. The model compounds have been selected to demonstrate the differences in their neurotoxic potential which stresses the importance of insight in the nervous system characteristics as well as in the kinetics of the toxic reactions. Screening of the general population for adverse neural effects of environmental chemicals is seldom necessary or practicable because of the nonspecific nature of the most of the available tests. Control of exposure in the industrial setting is in most cases a realistic and necessary goal of the occupational health service.