Blood Mercury Levels and Neurobehavior
- Joachim Mutter, MD
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joachim.mutter@uniklinik-freiburg.de
- Johannes Naumann, MD
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Institute of Environmental Medicine and Hospital Epidemiology
Freiburg University Hospital
Freiburg, Germany
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- ALZHEIMER DISEASE
- DENTAL AMALGAM
- FISHES
- MERCURY POISONING
- METHYLMERCURY COMPOUNDS
- NEUROTOXINS
- OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
To the Editor: In their study on persons aged 50 to 70 years,1 Dr Weil and colleagues found no association between blood mercury levels and neurobehavioral function. We believe that some limitations in this study need to be considered.
First, as the authors note, blood mercury levels represent only recent exposure to methylmercury. Therefore, they have not considered exposure to other chemical forms of mercury like inorganic mercury or mercury vapor, which are normally measured in urine. Exposure to low levels of mercury vapor has been associated with impairment of neurobehavioral function.2
Second, in Alzheimer disease, the most common form of dementia, clinical symptoms may not manifest for 30 to 50 years.3-4 If mercury plays a pathogenetic role in Alzheimer disease,4 cumulative mercury exposure may cause subsequent cognitive impairment some decades later without elevation of mercury levels when symptoms develop.
Finally, marine fish is …
