ABSTRACT
Increased internal exposure to nickel can cause an exacerbation of nickel contact dermatitis. Nickel ions are chelated by diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC) and thereby inactivated. An oral dose of about 1 g DDC/day was given to a patient. The nickel excretion in the urine increased about tenfold; the nickel elimination in scalp hair did not increase. The slightly negative nickel balance did not exhaust the nickel content of the organs appreciably with a dose of 1.2 g DDC/day for 2 months. At the end of this experiment patch tests with nickel sulphate were still positive though less local therapy was needed, and the cross correlation between the activity of the eczema and the nickel concentration in the urine had lost its former periodicity. It is therefore not yet possible to conclude whether or not DDC may be really of help in the very nickel hypersensitive patient by reducing the exposure to nickel originating in food and other environmental sources.
Subject(s)
Dermatitis, Contact/drug therapy , Dermatitis, Occupational/drug therapy , Ditiocarb/therapeutic use , Nickel/adverse effects , Thiocarbamates/therapeutic use , Administration, Oral , Adolescent , Dermatitis, Contact/metabolism , Dermatitis, Occupational/chemically induced , Ditiocarb/administration & dosage , Female , Hair/analysis , Humans , Nickel/metabolismABSTRACT
The nickel concentrations in urine and blood plasma of a very hypersensitive female patient have been followed during two periods of 34 and 42 days each. A limited degree of correlation was found between the course of the nickel concentration in plasma, the nickel concentration in urine and the clinical activity of the dermatitis. Evidently other factors also influence the activity of the dermatitis; among these menstruation and stress might be expected to play a role.
Subject(s)
Dermatitis, Contact/etiology , Eczema/chemically induced , Nickel/adverse effects , Dermatitis, Contact/blood , Dermatitis, Contact/urine , Eczema/blood , Eczema/urine , Female , Humans , Male , Nickel/blood , Nickel/urine , Time FactorsABSTRACT
The nickle (Ni) concentrations of blood plasma, urine and scalp hair do not differ between hypersensitive and non-hypersensitive subjects. Those who are occupationally exposed have about ten times the control content of nickel in the plasma, urine and hair, whether hypersensitive or not. During vacations the Ni contents of their plasmas and urines decrease sharply. Oral administration of only 5 mg Ni (as the sulphate) increases the Ni concentration of plasma and urine to ten times the normal for more than the subsequent 24 h.