OBJECTIVES Thimerosal is a mercurial preservative that was widely used in multidose vaccine vials in the United States and Europe until 2001 and continues to be used in many countries throughout the world. We conducted a pharmacokinetic study to assess blood levels and elimination of ethyl mercury after vaccination of infants with thimerosal-containing vaccines. METHODS Blood, stool, and urin...

BACKGROUND Patch testing is an essential procedure in the investigation of eczema in children. OBJECTIVES To analyse the frequency of contact hypersensitivity and allergic contact dermatitis among Polish children with eczema. PATIENTS/METHODS During an allergy screening programme involving 9320 children aged 7 and 16 years, 12.6% reported symptoms of chronic/recurrent eczema. From this grou...

Currently, ethylmercury (EtHg) and adjuvant-Al are the dominating interventional exposures encountered by fetuses, newborns, and infants due to immunization with Thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCVs). Despite their long use as active agents of medicines and fungicides, the safety levels of these substances have never been determined, either for animals or for adult humans—much less for fetuses,...

INTRODUCTION Thimerosal (or Thiomersal) is a trade name for an organomercurial compound (sodium ethyl-mercury (Hg) thiosalicylate) that is 49.55% Hg by weight, which rapidly decomposes in aqueous saline solutions into ethyl-Hg hydroxide and ethyl-Hg chloride. Developed in 1927, it has been and is still being used as a preservative in some cosmetics, topical pharmaceuticals, and biological drug ...

Relative intracellular free Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i) were monitored in mature unfertilized mouse eggs by measuring fluorescence of intracellular fluo3. A number of different agents were found to cause sustained repetitive transient [Ca2+1] oscillations. These were microinjection of a cytosolic sperm factor, sustained injection of Ins-(1,4,5)P,, or extracellular addition of the thiol reagen...

We have studied the effects of thimerosal, a mercurial compound extensively used as a preservative, as well as other sulfhydryl reagents (e.g. p-hydroxymercurybenzoate, hydrogen peroxide, bromophenacyl bromide, and mercuric chloride) on Ca2+ homeostasis and the redox status of sulfhydryl groups in thymus lymphocytes. They all induced an increase in [Ca2+]i which was blocked with dithiothreitol,...

BACKGROUND An inactivated quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIV) was recently licenced in the US as a thimerosal-free formulation presented in a pre-filled syringe. A multidose presentation is preferred in some settings due to reduced acquisition and cold storage costs. We assessed the immunogenicity and safety of a thimerosal-containing QIV formulated using a new manufacturing process for presen...

The differential diagnostic work-up of children with chronic eczema should involve patch testing, also in cases with confirmed atopy. In our previous study, contact allergy was detected in every second child with chronic eczema. The aim of the present study was to identify the most important sensitizers in atopic children with eczema. During an allergy screening program, 103 consecutive childre...

Article history: Received on: 14/03/2013 Revised on: 02/04/2013 Accepted on: 19/04/2013 Available online: 27/04/2013 Over the past decade illness outbreaks have posed a serious threat to human life and well-being. The 2009 outbreak H1N1/A influenza virus also was expected to disproportionately affect healthy young persons under the age of 25 years. A small amount of the preservative thimerosal ...