Mercury intoxication

Methanol intoxication can cause blindness due to damage to ganglion cells in the retina. The blindness results from the accumulation of formaldehyde and formic acid, which are metabolites of methanol. Chemical compounds can also damage the visual cortex, for example, visual damage was observed among the victims of organic mercury intoxication in Japan (the fishermen of Minamata Bay). ... 

Van Der Molen EJ, Blok AA, Graaf GJ. 1982. Winter starvation and mercury intoxication in Gray Herons (Ardea cinerea) in the Netherlands. Ardea 70 173-184. 

Allen, P. 1994. Changes in the haematological profile of the cichlid Oreochromis aureus (Steindachner) during acute inorganic mercury intoxication. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 108C 117-121. 

Ware, R.A., Burkholder, P.M. and Chang, L.W. (1975). Ultrastractural changes in renal proximal tubules after chronic organic and inorganic mercury intoxication. Environ. Res. 10 121-140. 

An epidemic of intoxication from ingestion of fish contaminated with methyl mercury occurred in the Minamata district in Japan, and, as a result, methyl mercury intoxication is often referred to as Minamata disease." Infants born to mothers with exposure to large amounts of methyl mercury had microen-cephaly, mental retardation, and cerebral palsy with convulsions. In an incidence in Iraq, ingestion of wheat products contaminated with methyl mercury fungicide by pregnant women caused similar symptoms of neurological damage and mental retardation. The fetus is... 

Examples of this mechanism of action include the administration of BAL (Dimercaprol) for the treatment of arsenic, copper, lead, or mercury intoxication. BAL is usually administered in a does of 3-5 mg/kg intramuscularly every 4 hours for 2 days, then every 4-6 hours for an additional 2 days, then every 4-12 hours for... 

School is an important setting for many children and adolescents. Many of the residential factors described above can apply to the school setting. However, there may be additional sources of chemicals that are associated with laboratories, activity rooms, or school equipment. For example, exposure to volatile compounds has been reported in art buildings (Ryan et al., 2002) polybrominated diphenyl ethers, used in flame retardants, were detected in teaching halls containing 20 computers (Sjodin et al., 2001) mercury intoxication resulting from use of school barometers has been reported in a number of countries (Koyun et al., 2004) and in Mexico, lead levels were higher in children who habitually bite coloured pencils (Lopez-Carrillo etal., 1996). 

Koyun M, Akman S, Guven AG (2004) Mercury intoxication resulting from school barometers in three unrelated adolescents. Eur J Pediatr, 163(3) 131-134. 

Li AM, Chan MH, Leung TF, Cheung RC, Lam CW, Fok TF. Mercury intoxication presenting with tics. Arch Dis Child 2000 83(2) 174-5. 

With a few exceptions, the use of metallic mercury in medicine is considered to be outdated the few exceptions include its use in certain preservatives and in dental amalgam. The radioactive nuclides Hg and ° Hg have been used diagnostically, but the amount of mercury involved is very small. Even the mercury thermometer is rapidly being replaced by safer alternative devices. The use of mercury in dermatological therapy should be abandoned because of the risk of mercury intoxication (1). 

A patient developed mercury intoxication, including aplastic anemia, after local application of merbromin to an operation wound (SED-11, 483) (25). 

De Bont B, Lauwerys R, Govaerts H, Moulin D. Yellow mercuric oxide ointment and mercury intoxication. Eur J Pediatr 1986 145(3) 217-18. 

Pelclova D, Lukas E, Urban P, Preiss J, Rysava R, Lebenhart P, Okrouhlik B, Fenclova Z, Lebedova J, Stejskalova A, Ridzon P. Mercury intoxication from skin ointment containing mercuric ammonium chloride. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2002 75(Suppl) S54-9. 

Von Burg R, Rustam H. Electrophysiological investigations of methyl mercury intoxication in humans Evaluation of peripheral nerve by conduction velocity and electromyography. Electroenceph Clin Neurophysiol 1974 37 381 -92. 

Klein R, Herman SP, Bullock BC, Talley EA. Early functional and pathological changes in rat kidney during methyl mercury intoxication. Arch Pathol 1976 96 83-90. 

Diagnosis of mercury intoxication can be confirmed by measuring levels of the metal in serum. The toxic effects are largely irreversible. In severe cases, death is the major outcome. 

In contrast with the long-term (perhaps permanent) effects noted in the previous study, Yang et al. (1994) reported that recovery from chronic elemental mercury intoxication may be complete when patients are removed early from the exposure environment. A 29-year-old worker in a Taiwanese lampsocketmanufacturing facility, with an initial urinary mercury concentration of 610 g/L (in a 24-hour sample) and a blood mercury concentration of 237 g/L (reference range, <10 g/L), exhibited a variety of symptoms, including blurred vision, dysarthria, prominent gingivitis, tremors (usually postural and... 

Indirect evidence of dermal absorption is provided by clinical case studies in which mercury intoxication was reported in individuals following dermal application of ointments that contained inorganic mercury salts (Bourgeois et al. 1986 DeBont et al. 1986). 

Adams C, Ziegler D, Lin J. 1983. Mercury intoxication simulating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 

BarberRE. 1978. Inorganic mercury intoxication reminiscent of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Occup Med 20 667-669. 

Bourgeois M, Dooms-Goossens A, Knockaert D, et al. 1986. Mercury intoxication after topical application of a metallic mercury ointment. Dermatologica 172 48-51. 

Chang L, Hartmann HA. 1972a. Blood-brain barrier dysfunction in experimental mercury intoxication. ActaNeuropathol (Berlin) 21 179-184. 

Derobert L, Tara S. 1950. Mercury intoxication in pregnant women. Ann Med Leg 30 222-225 (French)... 

Hoet P, Lison D. 1997. A nonoccupational source of mercury intoxication (2). Clinical Chemistry 43(7) 1248. 

Lille F, Hazemann P, Gamier R, et al. 1988. Effects of lead and mercury intoxications on evoked potentials. Clin Toxicol 26(1-2) 103-116. 

Organic derivatives of mercury are more hazardous than the simple inorganic salts because they are lipid soluble and hence bioconcentrate. These species are able to cross the blood-brain barrier, thereby causing the neurological symptoms associated with mercury intoxication. 

---