M. Pokorski (ed.), Respiratory Regulation - The Molecular Approach,
Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 756, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-4549-0_23,
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012
Abstract Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is a complex disorder initiated by chemical exposure,
particularly through the airways. MCS patients report sensitivity or intolerance to low levels of a
wide spectrum of chemicals. Symptoms could include asthma-like signs, rhinitis, fatigue, cognitive
dysfunction, psycho-physiological alteration, and other specific tissue reactions resembling hypoxic
and oxidative stress effects. To recognize physiological signs that would allow the diagnosis of MCS
in a non-invasive way we investigated the potential application of a new sensor system. In healthy
volunteers, we measured exhaled breath content in the control condition and under exposure to olfactory
stressors that mimic hypoxic or pollutant stressors playing a potential role in the generation of the
MCS disorder. The recording system used is based on metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) sensor
having a sensing range of 450–2,000 ppm CO
2
equivalents, which is able to detect a broad range of
compounds playing a potential role in the generation of the MCS disorder, while correlating directly
with the CO
2
levels. The results indicate that the recording system employed was suitable for the
analysis of exhaled breath content in humans. Interestingly, the system was able to detect and
discriminate between the exhaled breath content taken from the control condition and those from
conditions under stress that mimicked exposures to pollutant or hypoxia. The results suggest that
chronic hypoxia could be involved in the MCS disorder.
Keywords Breathanalysis•Exhaledbreathcontent•Multiplechemicalsensitivitysyndrome•Smell
•Volatileorganiccompounds
Chapter 23
Non-invasive Assessment of Exhaled Breath Pattern
in Patients with Multiple Chemical Sensibility Disorder
Andrea Mazzatenta, Sergio Cozzutto, Pierluigi Barbieri, Vittore Veratti,
Mieczyslaw Pokorski, and Camillo Di Giulio
A. Mazzatenta (*)•V.Veratti•C.DiGiulio
Sensorial Physiology Unit, Department of Neuroscience and Imaging,
UniversityofChieti-Pescara‘G.d’Annunzio’,ViadeiVestini31,66100Chieti,Italy
e-mail: amazzatenta@yahoo.com
S. Cozzutto
ARCO Solutions srl, Spin off Trieste University, Trieste, Italy
P. Barbieri
Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
M. Pokorski
Department of Respiratory Research, Medical Research Center, Polish Academy of Sciences,
Warsaw, Poland
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