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“BACKGROUND: Thimerosal is an ethylmercury-containing preservative in vaccines. Toxicokinetic studies have shown children received doses of mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCVs) that were in excess of safety guidelines. Previously, an ecological study showing a significant association between TCVs and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs) in the US was published in this journal.

MATERIAL/METHODS:
A two phased population-based epidemiological study was undertaken. Phase one evaluated reported NDs to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) following thimerosal-containing Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular-Pertussis (DTaP) vaccines in comparison to thimerosal-free DTaP vaccines administered from 1997 through 2001. Phase two evaluated the automated Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) for cumulative exposures to mercury from TCVs at 1-, 2-, 3-, and 6-months-of-age for infants born from 1992 through 1997 and the eventual risk of developing NDs.

RESULTS:
Phase one showed significantly increased risks for autism, speech disorders, mental retardation, personality disorders, and thinking abnormalities reported to VAERS following thimerosal-containing DTaP vaccines in comparison to thimerosal-free DTaP vaccines. Phase two showed significant associations between cumulative exposures to thimerosal and the following types of NDs: unspecified developmental delay, tics, attention deficit disorder (ADD), language delay, speech delay, and neurodevelopmental delays in general.

CONCLUSIONS:
This study showed that exposure to mercury from TCVs administered in the US was a consistent significant risk factor for the development of NDs. It is clear from these data and other recent publications linking TCVs with NDs that additional ND research should be undertaken in the context of evaluating mercury-associated exposures and thimerosal-free vaccines should be made available.”

“INTRODUCTION:

Heavy metals can negatively influence the reproduction due to the fact that they are able to impair the immune reactions including autoantibody production in susceptible individuals. In such a way the infertility could be also caused by altered pathologic immune reaction.

AIM OF THE STUDY:

To investigate the in vitro lymphocyte reaction after stimulation with metals and production of gamma interferon and antisperm antibodies in supernatants after lymphocyte stimulation in patients with infertility and with proven antisperm antibodies in their serum. The cause of antisperm antibodies presence was not determined.

METHODS:

The diagnosis of metal allergy was performed by the lymphocyte proliferation method modified for metals (MELISA) in supernatants of tissue cultures of lymphocytes without the antigen stimulation and after stimulation with mercury chloride, the in vitro production of gamma interferon and antisperm antibodies was studied by ELISA.

RESULTS:

More than 50% of patients were reacting to mercury, iron, aluminium and silver as mean by lymphocyte reactivity. When compared the lymphocyte reaction in patients with and without mercury allergy we found that the lymphocytes of patients with mercury intolerance produced less gamma interferon and more antisperm antibodies in supernatants after mercury stimulation of their lymphocytes.

CONCLUSION:

In patients with metal intolerance diagnosed by the MELISA test the release of metal ions from dental materials can be one of the stimulating factors which may adversely affect fertility.”

“Several European countries have guidelines suggesting that women should not receive mercury-containing dental amalgam fillings during pregnancy. One concern raised by several studies is that mercury exposure during pregnancy may lead to decreased birth weight. A population-based, case-control study was designed to investigate whether placement of mercury-containing fillings in 1993-2000 during pregnancy increased the low-birth-weight risk. Cases and controls were sampled from enrollees of a dental insurance plan with live singleton births in Washington State; 1,117 women with low-birth-weight infants (< 2,500 g) were compared with a random sample of 4,468 women with infants weighing 2,500 g or more. The results indicated that 13% of a dentally insured population had one or more restorative procedures during pregnancy that, regardless of chemical composition, did not increase the low-birth-weight risk (odds ratio = 0.96, 95% confidence interval: 0.88, 1.05). The 4.9% of the women (n = 249) who had at least one mercury-containing amalgam filling during pregnancy were not at an increased risk for a low-birth-weight infant (odds ratio = 0.75, 95% confidence interval: 0.45, 1.26) and neither were women who had 4-11 amalgam fillings placed (odds ratio = 1.00, 95% confidence interval: 0.27, 3.68). This study found no evidence that mercury-containing dental fillings placed during pregnancy increased low-birth-weight risk.”

“Dear Dr. Schwetz and Dr. Carome:

Consumers for Dental Choice has reason to believe that federal regualtions for the protection of human research subjects, including those for children, have been violated by a federally funded research study to test the safety of mercury amalgam dental fillings.”

“This document provides guidance to industry on good risk assessment practices during the development of prescription drug products, including biological drug products.2 This is one of three guidances that were developed to address risk management activities. Specifically, this document discusses the generation, acquisition, analysis, and presentation of premarketing safety data. FDA’s guidance documents, including this guidance, do not establish legally enforceable responsibilities. Instead, guidances describe the Agency’s current thinking on a topic and should be viewed only as recommendations, unless specific regulatory or statutory requirements are cited. The use of the word should in Agency guidances means that something is suggested or recommended, but not required.”

“An 85 year old woman diagnosed with kidney atrophy by ultrasound is found to have high levels of mercury and other toxic metals on laboratory testing. Three large decayed amalgam fillings in the patient’s lower jaw are observed, and the patient is advised to have them removed immediately. A modification of Da Zao Wan (Great Creation Pill) is administered, followed by reductions in both blood urea nitrogen and creatinine. A follow up visit with a nephrologist four years later indicates normal kidney function.”

“BACKGROUND:

Few occupational studies have addressed melanoma in women. Accordingly, our aim was to identify occupations with higher risk of cutaneous melanoma, overall and by site, in Swedish female workers.

METHODS:

All gainfully employed Swedish women were followed-up from 1971 to 1989, using Death/Cancer Registers. Occupational risk ratios adjusted for age, period, town size, and geographic zone were computed for each site. Risk patterns for different sites were then compared.

RESULTS:

High risks were observed among educators, bank tellers, dental nurses, librarians/archivists/curators, horticultural workers, and hatmakers/milliners. Telephone operators and textile workers had increased risk, mainly in the leg. Other occupation-specific site excesses were also found. Upper-limb risks were correlated with head/neck and thorax, though these two sites were not associated. Legs registered a special pattern, with a moderate correlation with upper limbs or thorax, and no correlation with head/neck.

CONCLUSIONS:

Some occupations with possible exposure to arsenic/mercury displayed increased risk. The generalized excess risk among hatmakers/milliners warrants further attention. The weak correlation between legs and other sites suggests site specificity in melanoma risk factors.”

“The effect of the oxidizing agent thimerosal on cytosolic free Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)]i) and proliferation has not been explored in human osteoblast-like cells. This study examined whether thimerosal alters Ca(2+) levels and causes cell death in MG63 human osteosarcoma cells. [Ca(2+)]i and cell death were measured using the fluorescent dyes fura-2 and WST-1, respectively. Thimerosal at concentrations above 5 microM increased [Ca(2+)]i in a concentration-dependent manner. The Ca(2+) signal was reduced by 80% by removing extracellular Ca(2+). The thimerosal-induced Ca(2+) influx was sensitive to blockade of La(3+), and dithiothreitol (50 microM) but was insensitive to nickel and several L-type Ca(2+) channel blockers. After pretreatment with 1 microM thapsigargin (an endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) pump inhibitor), thimerosal failed to induce [Ca(2+)]i rises. Inhibition of phospholipase C with 2 microM U73122 did not change thimerosal-induced [Ca(2+)]i rises. At concentrations of 5, 10 and 20 microM thimerosal killed 33, 55 and 100% cells, respectively. The cytotoxic effect of 5 microM thimerosal was reversed by 54% by prechelating cytosolic Ca(2+) with BAPTA. Collectively, in MG63 cells, thimerosal induced a [Ca(2+)]i rise by causing Ca(2+) release from endoplasmic reticulum stores and Ca(2+) influx from extracellular space. Furthermore, thimerosal can cause Ca(2+)-related cytotoxicity in a concentration-dependent manner.”