A 28-year-old man ingested methylene dianilene in potassium carbonate and y-butyrolactone. He developed toxic optic neuritis, with severe visual dysfunction (not previously reported in humans), prolonged toxic hepatitis, with disturbed liver-function tests 18 months after the incident, and other more transient effects. The course of his illness is described and the literature on methylene dianilene toxicity is reviewed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Brooks, L.J., Neale, J.M. & Pieron, D.R. (1979). Acute myocardiopathy following tripathway exposure to methylenedianiline. JAMA, 242, 1527-1528.
2.
Canstatt, H.B.S., Hofmann, T.H., Oettel, H. & Zeller, H. (1966). Netzhautveranderungen der Katze bei der Vergiftung mit peroral oder parkutan verabreichten Chemikalien. Verh. Dtsch. Ges. Pathol., 50, 429-435.
3.
Deichmann, W.B., Macdonald, W.E., Coplan, M., Woods, F. & Blum, E. (1978). Di(4-aminophenyl)-methane (MDA)-4-7 year dog feeding study. Toxicology, 11, 185-188.
4.
Dunn, G.W. & Guirguis, S.S. (1979). pp'-Methylene dianilene (MDA) as an occupational health problem: a suggested time-weighted average exposure level and medical program. Arh. Hig. Rad. Toksikol. , 30, 639-645.
5.
Fukushma, S., Shibata, M., Hibino, T., Yoshimura, T., Hirose, M. & Ito, N. (1979). Intrahepatic bile duct proliferation induced by 4,4'-diaminodiphenyl-methane in rats. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. , 48, 145-155.
6.
Kopelman, H. (1968). The Epping jaundice after two years. Postgrad. Med. J., 44, 78-81.
7.
Kopelman, H., Scheuer, P.J. & Williams, R. (1966a). The liver lesion of the Epping jaundice. Q. J. Med., 35, 553-564.
8.
Kopelman, H., Robertson, M.H., Sanders, P.G. & Ash, I. (1966b). The Epping jaundice. Br. Med. J., i, 514-516.
9.
McGill, D.B. & Motto, J.D. (1974). An industrial outbreak of toxic hepatitis due to methylene dianilene. N. Engl. J. Med., 291, 278-282.
10.
NIOSH (1976). Background information on 4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM). Report issued by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Robert A. Taft Laboratory, Cincinnati.
11.
Schilling, B. Von, Hofmann, H.T., Oettel, H. & Zeller, H. (1966). Netzhautbefunde be Katzen nack Vergiftung mit Athylenimin und 4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethan (4,4'methylendianilin). Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Exp. Pathol. Pharmakol., 253, 82.
12.
Schoental, R. (1968). Pathological lesions, including tumours, in rats after 4,4'diaminodiphenylmethane and γ-butyrolactone. Isr. J. Med. Sci., 4, 1146-1158.
13.
Williams, S.V., Bryan, J.A., Burk, J.R. & Wolf, F.S. (1974). Toxic hepatitis due to methylene dianilene. N. Engl. J. Med., 291, 1256.
14.
Zyberszac, S. (1951). Action cirrhogene des diamino diphenyles insolubles sur le foie du rat. C. R. Soc. Biol., 145, 136-138.