UNLABELLED Symptoms of mercury toxicity, biochemical changes, and blood/urine mercury levels were evaluated in a small group of patients. Six patients attending Delek Hospital, Dharamsala, India, taking mercury-containing traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM) (Group I), were compared with three patients taking non-mercury containing TTM (Group II) and healthy volunteers(Group II). Quantitative est...

Economic development, including resource extraction, can cause toxic exposures that interact with endemic infectious diseases. Mercury is an immunotoxic metal used in the amalgamation of gold, resulting in both occupational exposures and environmental pollution. A cross-sectional medical survey was conducted in 1997 on 135 garimpeiros in Para, Brazil, because of their risks of both mercury expo...

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is a primary contributor to global mercury and its rapid expansion raises concern for human exposure. Non-occupational exposure risks are presumed to be strongly tied to environmental contamination; however, the relationship between environmental and human mercury exposure, how exposure has changed over time, and risk factors beyond fish consumption ...

Background: Mercury is widespread and persistent in the environment. One organic form of mercury, Methylmercury (MeHg), can accumulate in the food chain in aquatic ecosystems and lead to high concentrations of MeHg in fish, which, when consumed by humans, can result in an increased risk of adverse effects. Currently, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) has established...

In the past, human activities often resulted in mercury releases to the biosphere with little consideration of undesirable consequences for the health of humans and wildlife. This paper outlines the pathways through which humans and wildlife are exposed to mercury. Fish consumption is the major route of exposure to methylmercury. Humans can also receive toxic doses of mercury through inhalation...

OBJECTIVES To review the characteristics of the consultation about the management of mercury exposure and identify the controversial issues on the clinical management of individuals with a history of mercury exposure. DESIGN Descriptive case series. SETTING Hong Kong Poison Information Centre, Hong Kong. PARTICIPANTS Persons consulting the Hong Kong Poison Information Centre about individ...

Mercury is a toxic and non-essential metal in the human body. Mercury is ubiquitously distributed in the environment, present in natural products, and exists extensively in items encountered in daily life. There are three forms of mercury, i.e., elemental (or metallic) mercury, inorganic mercury compounds, and organic mercury compounds. This review examines the toxicity of elemental mercury and...

Mercury is a highly potent cell toxin with effects on human and animal nervous systems. Mercury vapour released from dental amalgam is the predominant source of mercury in the human adult and foetal central nervous system in populations of developed countries. Only in small populations with high consumption of methyl mercury containing fish can the contribution from fish consumption reach or su...

In their review, Esteban-Vasallo et al. (2012) discussed the use of human placenta to evaluate bio markers of exposure to heavy metals. They correctly concluded that the use of placental tissue specimens to assess heavy metal exposure is actually under used. Surprisingly, they did not mention the well-documented relationship between mercury released from mercury-containing dental amalgam fillin...

In their review, Esteban-Vasallo et al. (2012) discussed the use of human placenta to evaluate bio markers of exposure to heavy metals. They correctly concluded that the use of placental tissue specimens to assess heavy metal exposure is actually under used. Surprisingly, they did not mention the well-documented relationship between mercury released from mercury-containing dental amalgam fillin...