Chronic Encephalopathy due to the Long-Term Exposure to Carbon Disulphide: Literature Review

Carbon disulphide (CS2) is widely used for numerous purposes, especially in the viscose rayon industry. Encephalopathy is a type of central nervous system (CNS) impairment due to CS2 poisoning, which is usually slowly progressive. Acute, stroke-like episodes may occur, with manifestations ranging from hemiparesis, speech disturbance, neuropsychiatric changes and others, suggesting vascular events. Brain morphological changes have been documented in these patients, showing lesions in basal ganglia, corona radiata and brainstem; diffuse lesions in the white matter, which indicate central demyelination; decreased regional central blood flow (CBF) and prolonged regional cerebral vascular mean transit time (MTT) in subcortical white matter and lacunar infarction. Currently, the occupational exposure limit to CS2 has been set within the range of 1 -10 ppm for an 8 hr time-weighted average (TWA). TWA in Indonesia itself has been set at 10 ppm. Data regarding health impacts of CS2 exposure are primarily available from past studies with higher exposure levels, with studies evaluating low-dose, long-term exposure being comparatively scarce. Further studies evaluating encephalopathy and other CNS disturbances from chronic CS2 exposure in modern workplace settings in environmental and occupational health talks are necessary to gain more updated information regarding CS2 toxicity.