Xylene and Alcohol Involvement of the Human Equilibrium System

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Abstract
Healthy male subjects [10] were exposed at weekly intervals to m-xylene concentrations of 6 .mu.mol/l (145 ppm) and 11.5 .mu.mol/l (290 ppm) for 4 h alone and in combination with the prior ingestion of single doses of alcohol (0.8 g/kg). Alcohol alone was ingested at 2 dose levels, 0.4 and 0.8 g/kg. Body sway was recorded with a strain gauge transducer platform with the subjects'' eyes closed and open, and the eyes closed/open ratio, indicating the grade of visual compensation for body balance, was calculated. The variation observed in the eyes closed/open ratio in different experimental situations was due to changes with the eyes closed rather than to differences with the eyes open. Alcohol or a xylene concentration of 6 .mu.mol/l, as well as their combination, had little if any effect on this ratio. Exposure to a xylene concentration of 11.5 .mu.mol/l tended to decrease the eyes closed/open ratio, possibly due to functional tolerance or adaptation. Alcohol with a xylene concentration of 11.5 .mu.mol/l significantly increased the ratio, a finding suggesting an unexpected combined effect of xylene and alcohol, possibly of metabolic origin, on the human equilibrium system. The possible mechanism of this action remains to be elucidated.

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