Congenital minamata disease

Most cases of mercury poisoning led to handicap, chronic disease, or death. The most frequent symptoms include numbness of limbs, lips and tongue, speech abnormalities, limb function disorders, visual acuity disorders, deafness, and muscular atrophy. Insomnia, hyperactivity, and coma have also been reported. Methylmercury penetrates the blood-brain barrier and causes central nervous system injuries. Mercury also has a teratogenic effect, leading to congenital abnormalities or congenital Minamata disease. 

Harada M (1978) Congenital Minamata disease intrauterine methylmercury poisoning. Teratology, 18(2) 285-288. 

Harada, M., H. Akagi, T. Tsuda, T. Kizaki, and H. Ohno. 1999. Methylmercury level in umbilical cords from patients with congenital Minamata disease. Sci. Total Environ. 234(l-3) 59-62. 

Kondo K Congenital Minamata disease warnings from Japan s experience. J Child Neurol 15 458-464, 2000... 

Harada, M., Congenital Minamata Disease Intrauterine Methylmercury Poisoning. Teratology, 1978, 18 285-288. 

In 1993, more than 2000 patients have been officially designated with Minamata Disease, and 59 had congenital Minamata Disease in Kumamoto Prefecture. Pathological findings of fetal Minamata Disease indicated that... 

Nonaka, I. (1969) An electron microscopical study on the experimental congenital minamata disease in rat. Kumamoto Med. J. 22,... 

Chang, L.W., Guo, G.L. (1998). Fetal minamata disease congenital methylmercury poisoning. In Handbook of Developmental Neurotoxicity (W. Slikker, Jr., L.W. Chang, eds), pp. 507-15. Academic Press, San Diego. 

Harada, Y. 196S. Congenital (or fetal) Minamata disease. Pp. 93-118 in Minamata Disease. Study group of Minamata Disease. J )an Kiunamoto University. 

Up to 600 tons of methylmercury were discharged into Minamata Bay, Japan, between 1932 and 1971 from acetaldehyde manufacturing plants. Human fatalities were documented beginning in 1953 from consumption of methylmercury-contaminated fish and shellfish from the Bay. By 1993, about 2000 victims of Minamata Disease were identified including more than 100 deaths and 59 congenital birth defects from a total regional population of about 200,000 however, at least 10,000... 

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