Chemical sensitivity immunotoxicology

National Research Council. Multiple chemical sensitivity. Addendum to biologic markers in immunotoxicology, National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1992, pp. 13 34. 

Rea, William J., Alfred R. Johnson, Gerald H. Ross, Joel R. Butler, Ervin J. Fenyves, Bertie Griffiths, and John Laseter. Considerations for the Diagnosis of Chemical Sensitivity. In Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Addendum to Biologic Markers in Immunotoxicology. Washington, D.C. National Academy Press, 1992. 

A number of chemical compounds are potent sensitizers that can lead to serious immunological reactions. Immunotoxicology explores interactions between chemical compounds and the immune system. Chemicals can amplify, attenuate, or otherwise modify immunological reactions subsequent to exposure. - ... 

The majority of early publications that can be reasonably identified as comprising immunotoxicology reported altered resistance to infection in animals exposed to various environmental or industrial chemicals. Authors logically concluded that xenobiotic exposure suppressed immune function since the immune system is ultimately responsible for this resistance to infection. Subsequent studies demonstrated that suppression of various cellular and functional endpoints accompanied or preceded increased sensitivity to infection, and that administration of known immunosuppressants likewise decreased host resistance. The human health implications of these studies, that chemical exposure reduced resistance to infection, drove the initial focus of many immunotoxicologists on functional suppression, and provided the theoretical and practical underpinnings of immunotoxicity testing. 

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