[Usefulness of color vision test for early detection of neurological damages by neurotoxic substances]

J Prev Med Public Health. 2008 Nov;41(6):397-406. doi: 10.3961/jpmph.2008.41.6.397.
[Article in Korean]

Abstract

This paper reviews the published literature that is concerned with color vision impairment from industrial and environmental exposure to neurotoxic substances, and we evaluated whether testing for color vision impairment could be an affordable procedure for assessing these neurotoxic effects. In general, most cases of congenital color vision impairment are red-green, and blue-yellow impairment is extremely rare. However, most of the acquired color vision impairment that is related to age, alcohol or environmental factors is blue-yellow impairment. Therefore, many studies have been performed to identify this relationship between exposure to neurotoxic substances, such as organic solvents and heavy metals, and the prevalence of blue-yellow color vision impairment. The test for color vision impairment is known to be very sensitive to the early signs of nervous system dysfunction and this can be useful for making the early diagnosis of neurotoxic effects from exposure to very low concentrations of toxic substances.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Color Perception Tests*
  • Color Vision Defects / chemically induced*
  • Color Vision Defects / diagnosis
  • Early Diagnosis
  • Hazardous Substances / toxicity*
  • Humans
  • Neurotoxicity Syndromes / diagnosis*
  • Neurotoxicity Syndromes / pathology
  • Solvents / adverse effects

Substances

  • Hazardous Substances
  • Solvents