Search results for "Mercury"
showing 10 items of 396 documents
Neuropsychological performance 10 years after immunization in infancy with thimerosal-containing vaccines
2009
OBJECTIVE. Thimerosal, a mercury compound used as a preservative in vaccines administered during infancy, has been suspected to affect neuropsychological development. We compared the neuropsychological performance, 10 years after vaccination, of 2 groups of children exposed randomly to different amounts of thimerosal through immunization. METHODS. Children who were enrolled in an efficacy trial of pertussis vaccines in 1992–1993 were contacted in 2003. Two groups of children were identified, according to thimerosal content in vaccines assigned randomly in the first year of life (cumulative ethylmercury intake of 62.5 or 137.5 μg), and were compared with respect to neuropsychological outcome…
Biomonitoring of mercury in hair of children living in the Valencian Region (Spain). Exposure and risk assessment.
2018
Abstract In this study, we assessed total mercury levels in hair specimens of 661 children, aged 6 to 11, participating in the BIOVAL programme, a human biomonitoring study carried out by the Health Department of the Regional Government of Valencia (Spain). The reference value (95th percentile) determined for this population, within this programme, was 3.25 μg g−1. Hg concentrations ranged between 0.03 μg g−1 and 8.71 μg g−1, with a geometric mean of 0.79 (CI 95%: 0.73–0.85) μg g−1. This mean value was five times higher than the average levels found in children of 17 other European countries (0.145 μg g−1). About 13% of children had hair mercury levels above the FAO/WHO JECFA guideline of 2…
Endothelial function and serum concentration of toxic metals in frequent consumers of fish.
2014
BACKGROUND:Endothelial dysfunction is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Consumption of fish is associated with reduced cardiovascular risk, but there is paucity of data concerning its effect on endothelial function. Furthermore, investigation of the effects of fish consumption on health must take into account the ingestion of contaminants, including transition metals and some metalloids, which may have unfavorable effects on health, including those on the cardiovascular system. We investigated the association between fish consumption, endothelial function (flow mediated dilation of the brachial artery), and serum concentration of some toxic metals in apparently healthy people…
Mercury exposure and risk of cardiovascular disease: a nested case-control study in the PREDIMED (PREvention with MEDiterranean Diet) study
2017
Background: Substantial evidence suggests that consuming 1-2 servings of fish per week, particularly oily fish (e.g., salmon, herring, sardines) is beneficial for cardiovascular health due to its high n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid content. However, there is some concern that the mercury content in fish may increase cardiovascular disease risk, but this relationship remains unclear. Methods: The PREDIMED trial included 7477 participants who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease at baseline. In this study, we evaluated associations between mercury exposure, fish consumption and cardiovascular disease. We randomly selected 147 of the 288 cases diagnosed with cardiovascular disease duri…
Influence of diet in urinary levels of metals in a biomonitoring study of a child population of the Valencian region (Spain)
2018
[EN] Pollution by trace elements and its possible effect on organisms has become a worldwide concern due to the increasing presence of trace elements in the environment and especially in the food chain. Exposure to chemicals has traditionally been measured using environmental samples, however, human biomonitoring brings a different perspective, in which all sources and exposure pathways are integrated. The objective of this paper is to discern the possible relationship between children's diet and the metals found in children urine. With this aim in mind, a total of 120 voluntaries participated in a diet survey carried out in a school-aged population (age 6-11) from the Valencian region. In …
Heavy metal exposure in patients suffering from electromagnetic hypersensitivity
2009
Abstract Background Risks from electromagnetic devices are of considerable concern. Electrohypersensitive (EHS) persons attribute a variety of rather unspecific symptoms to the exposure to electromagnetic fields. The pathophysiology of EHS is unknown and therapy remains a challenge. Objectives Heavy metal load has been discussed as a potential factor in the symptomatology of EHS patients. The main objective of the study was to test the hypothesis of a link between EHS and heavy metal exposure. Methods We measured lead, mercury and cadmium concentrations in the blood of 132 patients ( n = 42 males and n = 90 females) and 101 controls ( n = 34 males and n = 67 females). Results Our result…
Effect of L-thyroxine on renal excretion of water and electrolytes in both normal and mercury-intoxicated rats.
1980
The urine output and the change in excretion of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, inorganic phosphate) in rats following mercury-induced acute tubular lesions showed marked recovery during L-thyroxine therapy. The kidney mechanisms responsible for this effect are discussed, considering especially the observation that rats treated with L-thyroxine have a reduced urinary output, unlike other species, including man, which react with polyuria. The oliguric effect of thyroid hormone in rats is attributed to the greater length of the vasa recta and loops of Henle.
Maternal selenium status and neuropsychological development in Spanish preschool children
2018
Background: The relationship between maternal selenium (Se) status and child neurodevelopment has been scarcely assessed. In a previous study we observed an inverse U-shaped association between maternal Se concentrations and infant neurodevelopment at 12 months of age. In this study, this non-linear association was explored at preschool age. The effect modification by breastfeeding, child's sex and cord blood mercury was also evaluated.Methods: Study subjects were 490 mother-child pairs from the Spanish Childhood and Environment Project (INMA, 2003–2012). Child neuropsychological development was assessed at around 5 years of age by theMcCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA). Sociodem…
Increased blood mercury levels in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
1998
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder that leads to dementia and death. In addition to several genetic parameters, various environmental factors may influence the risk of getting AD. In order to test whether blood levels of the heavy metal mercury are increased in AD, we measured blood mercury concentrations in AD patients (n = 33), and compared them to age-matched control patients with major depression (MD) (n = 45), as well as to an additional control group of patients with various non-psychiatric disorders (n = 65). Blood mercury levels were more than two-fold higher in AD patients as compared to both control groups (p = 0.0005, and p = 0.0000, respectively). In…
Renal and neurologic effects of cadmium, lead, mercury, and arsenic in children: evidence of early effects and multiple interactions at environmental…
2006
We read with great interest the article by de Burbure et al. (2006) on health effects in children who live near nonferrous smelters in France, the Czech Republic, and Poland. We were especially interested in the inverse relationship found between levels of urinary mercury and serum prolactin. We found a similar result in an Italian multicenter crosssectional survey with adult subjects (Alessio et al. 2002) using a different statistical approach based on regression analysis with mixed linear models. We found that serum prolactin decreased as a function of both urinary mercury and occupational exposure to inorganic mercury (Lucchini et al. 2003). In another study (Carta et al. 2003), our grou…