RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To explore the possible neurotoxicity of arsenic to auditory sensory pathways and evaluate roles of BAEPs in the detection of early brain damage resulting from arsenic exposure. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analytic study. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Twenty nine females with skin lesions consistent with arsenical dermatoses and 27 controls who met the inclusion criteria were investigatetd by Auditory Evoked Potentials (AEPs). Case findings resulted from a house-to-house survey in village 12, Ronphibun subdistrict and village 5, Saothong subdistrict, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, southern Thailand in 1995. RESULTS: Differences between the arsenic-exposed population and the referent group regarding BAEP parameters, BAEP latencies and interpeak latencies were not found. CONCLUSION: Evidence of the abnormalities of the auditory sensory pathways was not found among female patients with arsenical dermtoses in Ronphibun. The role of BAEPs in the detection of brain damage resulting from arsenic exposure could not be demonstrated.