Chemical Sensitivity-The Frontier of Diagnosis and Treatment

The history of chemical sensitivity (CS) concept is quite old; it was established in the 1950s as part of the environmental illness. Following this, in the beginning of 1980s various respiratory symptoms with induced inhalation, such as perfume inhalation, were identified through many reported cohort studies. Thereafter, CS was relabeled as multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). This was introduced in Japan in the 1990s, but standardized diagnostic criteria or diagnostic guidelines were not yet established at the time. However, despite the presence of CS symptoms in patients, the actual pathogenesis has not yet been developed, and the management of this condition will differ significantly depending on the medical institution. As a biggest season for that, we would like to report on the considerable difficulty in establishing the causal relationship between exposures to small amounts of chemical substances in the environment compared to large amounts. Therefore, establishing and standardizing highly specified objective diagnostic parameters is required. In this paper, we propose a scientific approach to the management of CS, by introducing the latest developments in diagnosis and treatment and provide insight into requirements for future study. 《Key words》 chemical sensitivity, olfactory stimulation, olfactory response, psychological-somatic symptoms, methods of objective examination Jpn J Clin Ecol (Vol.25 No.2 2016) 50