One neurotoxic industrial chemical that you will probably not hear much about is dimethylaminopropionitrile (DMAPN). Reason: Only one month elapsed between the initial discovery that DMAPN causes severe bladder dysfunction in industrial workers and removal of this chemical from production.
Responsible for the quick action were the physicians who established DMAPN's toxicity, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the companies that manufactured and used the substance. At the recent American Academy of Neurology meeting in Chicago, two participants described the investigations.
The first patient was seen in March 1978 in Baltimore by Alan Pestronk, MD, assistant professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The patient had difficulty urinating and some sensory loss in the hands and feet. Three days later one of Pestronk's colleagues, James Keogh, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins, saw a patient with similar symptoms. While discussing the two