Vanadium exposure-induced neurobehavioral alterations among Chinese workers

Abstract

Vanadium-containing products are manufactured and widely used in the modern industry. Yet the neurobehavioral toxicity due to occupational exposure to vanadium remained elusive. This cross-sectional study was designed to examine the neurotoxic effects of occupational vanadium exposure. A total of 463 vanadium-exposed workers (exposed group) and 251 non-exposed workers (control group) were recruited from a Steel and Iron Group in Sichuan, China. A WHO-recommended neurobehavioral core test battery (NCTB) and event-related auditory evoked potentials test (P300) were used to assess the neurobehavioral functions of all study subjects. A general linear model was used to compare outcome scores between the two groups while controlling for possible confounders. The exposed group showed a statistically significant neurobehavioral alteration more than the control group in the NCTB tests. The exposed workers also exhibited an increased anger-hostility, depression-dejection and fatigue-inertia on the profile of mood states (p<0.05). Performances in the Simple Reaction Time, Digit Span, Benton Visual Retention and Pursuit Aiming were also poorer among exposed workers as compared to unexposed control workers(p<0.05). Some of these poor performances in tests were also significantly related to workers’ exposure duration. P300 latencies were longer in the exposed group than in the control (p<0.05). Longer mean reaction times and more counting errors were also found in the exposed workers (p<0.05). Given the findings of our study and the limitations of neurobehavioral workplace testing, we found evidence of altered neurobehavioral outcomes by occupational exposure to vanadium.

Brain Metal Distribution and Neuro-Inflammatory Profiles after Chronic Vanadium Administration and Withdrawal in Mice

“…Earlier studies have shown that vanadium crosses the blood brain barrier (García et al, 2004) to induce neuropathology including neurobehavioral (Li et al, 2013; Saxena et al, 2013; Mustapha et al, 2014; Folarin et al, 2016), neurochemical (Sasi et al, 1994; García et al, 2004) and neurocellular (Domingo, 1996; Garcia et al, 2005; Avila-Costa et al, 2006) changes. In humans, features of acute neurotoxicity include central nervous system (CNS) perturbations, (CNS) depression, tremor, impaired conditioned reflexes, as well as congestion of brain and spinal cord (Haider et al, 1998; Soazo and Garcia, 2007).…”

Recovery of motor coordination after exercise is correlated to enhancement of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in lactational vanadium-exposed rats

“…Burning of fossil fuels increases vanadium levels in the atmosphere [10]. In humans, exposure to vanadium results in neurobehavioral alteration, such as the reduced functions in emotion, cognition, and motor accuracy [11,12]. In adult rats, vanadium exposure causes neuropathological lesions in hippocampal neurons [13], as well as oxidative stress and demyelination in the cerebellum [14,15].…”

Vanadium exposure-induced striatal learning and memory alterations in rats

“…Research by this group on workers who are occupationally exposed to vanadium has shown that vanadium exposure is associated with worker’s increased negative mood (Feng et al, 2012a, 2012b). Prolonged exposure for more than 10 years to vanadium among workers can lead to neuronal symptoms such as dizziness, headache, and loss in subjective memory (Li et al, 2013). More recent data suggest that vanadium exposure causes cognitive defects, altered neurobehavioral function, and impaired spatial learning ability (Azami et al, 2012; Mustapha et al, 2014).…”