TILT, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities

Illness Tied to Petrochemicals’ Impact on Body’s Essential Mast Cells (immune system regulators), Study Finds

(Beyond Pesticides, August 22, 2023) A recently completed study (available in preprint before peer review) identifies the development of what the authors term Toxicant-Induced Loss of Tolerance (TILT), the constellation of symptoms associated with chemical exposures (also called multiple Chemical sensitivities- MCS). 'The authors describe a two-part process. First, during initiation, a person is exposed at an acute level or repeated low-level doses to a toxicant, such as an organophosphate pesticide or a natural substance like mold, that triggers immune reactions from mast cells, which are crucial immune system regulators. Stage 2, or triggering, is when exposure to previously tolerated substances causes the mast cells to degranulate, or release many inflammatory molecules such as histamines and cytokines into the cellular environment.'  Claudia B. Miller and NIcholas Ashford. Link to study in original article.