Masaaki Fukushima

Studies on the women with acquired Fanconi syndrome observed in the Ichi river basin polluted by cadmium. Is this Itai-itai disease?

Abstract A fervent argument over whether cadmium caused Itai-itai disease or not has been held among investigators in Japan. In this paper, we describe five case reports whose clinical features are completely in accord with those of Itai-itai patients. We found these five patients in the Ichi River basin in Hyōgo Prefecture, where cadmium pollution has been noted. Three of them have been treated with large doses of vitamin D and responded to it satisfactorily. One of them died about 14 months after the treatment, and cadmium concentrations in her organs were determined. Values of cadmium in her organs were approximately equal to those in Itai-itai patients and were extremely high as compared with the one in the normal. On the basis of our observation, it seems reasonable to conclude that the five patients reported in this paper suffered from Itai-itai disease caused by cadmium.