A PRELIMINARY-STUDY ON DELAYED VESTIBULOCEREBELLAR EFFECTS OF TOKYO SUBWAY SARIN POISONING IN RELATION TO GENDER DIFFERENCE - FREQUENCY-ANALYSIS OF POSTURAL SWAY

To evaluate delayed (long-term) effects of acute sarin poisoning on po stural balance, nine male and nine female victims of the Tokyo Subway Sarin Poisoning in Japan (sarin cases) were examined by computerized p osturography 6-8 months after the poisoning: Their plasma cholinestera se activities (ChE) on the day of the poisoning (March 20, 1995) were 13-95 (mean 68.2) IU/l for females and 19-131 (mean 75.9) IU/l for mal es, which were not significantly different between the two sexes, In f emales, the postural sway of low frequency (0-1 Hz) in the anterior-po sterior direction and area of sway with eyes open was significantly la rger in the cases than in the controls, Romberg quotients for the low- frequency sway in the anterior-posterior direction for females and low -frequency sway and length of sway in the medio-lateral direction for males were significantly related to log ChE. It is suggested that a de layed effect on the vestibulo-cerebellar system was induced by acute s arin poisoning; females might be more sensitive than males.