[Relationships between concentrations of dioxin isomers and symptoms, and among concentrations and half-lives of dioxin isomers, in patients with Yusho disease].

The relationships among dioxin isomers are not well understood. This study aimed to clarify the relationships among isomers using two methods. First, the relationships between isomers and symptoms were analyzed by analysis of variance. Second, concentrations and half-lives were determined for each isomer in each patient, and correlation coefficients for the concentrations and half-lives among isomers were calculated. Two isomers very similar to 2, 3, 4, 7, 8-pentachlorodibenzofuran (2, 3, 4, 7, 8-PeCDF) were correlated with symptoms of Yusho disease. The correlation coefficients among three isomers similar to 2, 3, 4, 7, 8-PeCDF were very high at 0.98, indicating that there may be a mechanism which maintains constant ratios among these isomers.