Mercury

Sarcoidosis is a chronic multisystem disease with variable course resulting from the interaction between environmental factors and the immune system of individuals genetically predisposed. The evidence linking sarcoidosis with environmental triggers such as metals is increasing. We describe the case of a 44 year old female with a history. of smoking since age 30 and previous mercury dental filling who presented at physical examination with numerous subcutaneous nodules. Laboratory data showed accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and high titer of anti-U1 ribonucleoprotein antibodies (U1 RNP). Skin biopsy and chest X-ray suggested the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. In this report we illustrate the different causes involved in the onset of sarcoidosis.

Dental amalgam has been used in dentistry as a filling material. The filler comprises mercury (Hg). It is considered one of the most important and widespread environmental pollutants, which poses a serious potential threat for the humans and animals. However, mercury deposition affects the nervous, cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and especially renal systems. In most animals’ species and humans, the kidney is one of the main sites of deposition of mercury and target organ for its toxicity. In this study, the effects of mercury intake on kidney in rats were searched. For the this purpose; we used 24 adult female Wistar albino rats (200 g in weight) obtained from Experimental Research and Application Center of Atatürk University with ethical approval. Besides, they were placed into a specially designed glass cage. Along this experiment for 45 days, subjects were exposed to (1 mg/m(3)/day) mercury vapor. However, no application was used for the control subjects. At the end of the experiment, kidney samples were obtained from all subjects and processed for routine light microscopic level and stereological aspect were assessed. Finally, according to our results, mercury affects the histological features of the kidney. That means, the severe effects of mercury has been shown using stereological approach, which is one of the ideal quantitative methods in the current literature. In this study, it was detected that chronic exposure to mercury vapor may lead to renal damage and diseases in an experimental rat model.

BACKGROUND This study evaluated the hypothesis that the 1999 recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and US Public Health Service (PHS) to reduce exposure to mercury (Hg) from Thimerosal in US vaccines would be associated with a reduction in the long-term risk of being diagnosed with autism.

MATERIAL AND METHODS A two-phase assessment utilizing a case (n=73) -control (n=11,783) study in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database (for hypothesis generating) and a more rigorous, independent matched case (n=40) -control (n=40) study (hypothesis testing) was undertaken.

RESULTS Analysis of the VAERS database using logistic regression revealed that the odds ratio (OR) for being an autism case in the VAERS database significantly decreased with a more recent year of vaccination in comparison to controls (OR=0.65) from 1998 to 2003. Sex-separated analyses revealed similar significant effects for males (OR=0.62) and females (OR=0.71). Analyses of the matched case-control data revealed, using the t-test statistic, that the mean date of birth among cases diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (2000.5±1.2) was significantly more in the past than in controls (2001.1±1.3). Logistic regression also revealed that the OR for being diagnosed with ASD significantly decreased with a more recent date of birth in comparison to controls (OR=0.67) from 1998-2003.

CONCLUSIONS This study reveals that the risk of autism during from the late1990s to early 2000s in the US significantly decreased with reductions in Hg exposure from Thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines, but future studies should examine this phenomenon in other US populations. Vaccine programs have significantly reduced the morbidity and mortality associated with infectious disease, but Thimerosal should be removed from all vaccines.

Exposure to heavy metals and organic solvents are potential etiologic factors for multiple sclerosis (MS), but their interaction with MS-associated genes is under-studied. We explored the relationship between environmental exposure to lead, mercury, and solvents and 58 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MS-associated genes. Data from a population-based case-control study of 217 prevalent MS cases and 496 age-, race-, gender-, and geographically-matched controls were used to fit conditional logistic regression models of the association between the chemical, gene, and MS, adjusting for education and ancestry. MS cases were more likely than controls to report lead (odds ratio (OR)=2.03; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07, 3.86) and mercury exposure (OR=2.06; 95% CI: 1.08, 3.91). Findings of potential gene-environment interactions between SNPs in TNF-α, TNF-β, TCA-β, VDR, MBP, and APOE, and lead, mercury, or solvents should be considered cautiously due to limited sample size.

The major scientific clue has always been the triggered onset and growth rate of autism. Additionally, the witness of people being diagnosed with severe mercury poisoning from eating high fish diets cannot be ignored. It is not too much a stretch of the imagination to ask if this can happen to an adult what it might do to a small fetus. The development of vaccine therapy and the invention of pharmaceutical drugs has been a wonderful achievement lengthening many lives. However, like many things it has to be controlled and regulated especially when toxic adjuvants are added for enhancement effects. Likewise, the fish we eat are now contaminated worldwide in the lakes and oceans and will not return to natural levels possibly for many centuries.

During counselling, the patient should be advised that, according to evidence from randomized clinical trials, dental amalgam does not result in toxic effects and that replacement of amalgam fillings with nonmercury materials is not recommended. A precautionary approach could include avoiding dental amalgam work during pregnancy unless absolutely necessary, although no clinical evidence supports this recommendation.

In this study we investigated the additive effect of mercury on the brain mitochondrial dysfunction in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model. Experimental animals (female C57BL/6 mice) are divided into four groups (n = 8); control, Hg, EAE, EAE with Hg. EAE model of MS induced by injecting myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG). Neurobehavioral alterations are recorded and then mice were sacrificed at day 28 and brain mitochondria were isolated and mitochondrial toxicity parameters including mitochondrial swelling, reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and cytochrome c release were measured. Our results showed that repeated treatment of mercury following induction of EAE in mice significantly increased the neurobehavioral scores, as well as mitochondrial toxicity through ROS formation, mitochondrial swelling, collapse of MMP and cytochrome c release. Our findings proved that repeated exposure with mercury accelerates progression of MS through mitochondrial damage related to oxidative stress and finally apoptosis.

This is the first study to explore the potentially causal relationship between levels of serum neurokinin A and blood mercury (BHg) in children with ASD. Levels of serum neurokinin A and BHg were measured in 84 children with ASD, aged between 3 and 10 years, and 84 healthy-matched children. There was a positive linear relationship between the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and both serum neurokinin A and BHg. ASD children had significantly higher levels of serum neurokinin A than healthy controls (P < 0.001). Increased levels of serum neurokinin A and BHg were respectively found in 54.8 % and 42.9 % of the two groups. There was significant and positive linear relationship between levels of serum neurokinin A and BHg in children with moderate and severe ASD, but not in healthy control children. It was found that 78.3 % of the ASD patients with increased serum levels of neurokinin A had elevated BHg levels (P < 0.001). Neuroinflammation, with increased levels of neurokinin A, is seen in some children with ASD, and may be caused by elevated BHg levels. Further research is recommended to determine the pathogenic role of increased levels of serum neurokinin A and BHg in ASD. The therapeutic role of tachykinin receptor antagonists, a potential new class of anti-inflammatory medications, and Hg chelators, should also be studied in ASD.