Medical causation and expert testimony: allergists at this intersection of medicine and law.

Clinical practice always necessitates proper diagnosis and correct treatment. For most clinical fields, determining the cause of the illness is irrelevant to the intervention. An oncologist, for example, has no need to explore the "cause" of the patient's lymphoma.

Indoor health: background levels of fungi.

There is no uniformity in the suggested guidelines for acceptable levels of fungi in indoor ambient air. Thus, health professionals have no way to determine what levels of fungi may pose a threat to human health. The authors reviewed the published literature to identify data reported for noncomplaint structures, that is, structures in which occupants did not have health concerns associated with the quality of the indoor air.

Health effects of mycotoxins in indoor air: a critical review.

Industrial hygienists (IHs) are called upon to investigate exposures to mold in indoor environments, both residential and commercial. Because exposure standards for molds or mycotoxins do not exist, it is important for the industrial hygienist to have a broad knowledge of the potential for exposure and health effects associated with mold in the indoor environment. This review focuses on the toxic effects of molds associated with the production of mycotoxins, and the putative association between health effects due to mycotoxin exposure in the indoor environment.

Multiple chemical sensitivities: distinguishing between psychogenic and toxicodynamic.

The fundamental issue in the multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) debate is whether this phenomenon is primarily a psychogenic or toxicodynamic disorder, that is, whether symptoms are due to an emotional response to perceived chemical toxicity or to a pathological interaction between chemical agents and organ systems. The distinction between psychogenic or toxicodynamic is essential to the medical management of an MCS patient. A behavioral origin leads to a behavioral therapy, whereas a toxicodynamic etiology may necessitate avoidance and exposure control methodologies.