POLYCHLORBIPHENYLS (PCB) INDUCED FETOPATHY

I. CLINICAL OBSERVATION

Abstract

Four babies born to the poisned mother due to rice oil contaminated with polychlorbiphenyls (Yusho in Japanese) were studied in detail. These babies showed the unusual clinical features which were new clinical entity and might be called as polychlorbiphenyls (PCB) induced fetopathy. The main features were : 1) Intrauterine retardation of the growth (Small-For-Dates Baby in 3 of 4 cases), 2) Dark brown pigmentation on the skin and mucous membrane similar to that in Addison's disease, especially on the skin of the genitalia, axilla, near finger nail, hair follicle and on the mucous membrane of the mouth, palpebra, and limbic conjunctiva, 3) gingival hyperplasia in 3, and the eruption of teeth at birth in 2 cases, 4) Spotted cacification on the parieto-occipital skull in 3 cases and the large or wide frontal and occipital fontanells and saggital suture, 5) edematous face and exophthalmic eye in 3 cases. Possible presence of endocrinologic and enzymatic factor in the pathogenesis of this fetopathy was speculated.