Nephrotic syndrome mercury exposure

Kazantzis G, Schiller KFR, Asscher AW, Drew RG. Albuminuria and the nephrotic syndrome following exposure to mercury and its compounds. Quart J Med 1962 31 403-19. 

Albuminuria and nephrosis may also follow occupational exposure. Friberg et al. [115] found two such cases in a group of 50 workers exposed to metallic mercury. Both men recovered after the exposure was eliminated. Likewise, Kazantzis et al. [116] describe four cases from two factories where 72 men were exposed to mercury compounds. The urinary excretion of mercury was excessive in most of the workers, ranging from not detectable to more than 1000 pg Hg/L. Recovery from the nephrotic syndrome was complete after removal... 

Several potential biomarkers of effect for mercury have been evaluated, usually for neurological and renal dysfunction. Many of these toxic effects have been correlated with blood and urine levels (see Table 2-13). However, most indicators are nonspecific and may have resulted from other influences. As discussed in Section 2.2, many studies have examined the relationship between urine mercury levels and specific renal and neurological effects. Renal dysfunction has been studied extensively as a potential sensitive measure of mercury exposure. Signs of renal dysfunction at mercury air concentration of 0.1 mg/m3 were reported by Stewart et al. (1977). Case reports have associated the therapeutic use of inorganic mercury salts with the occurrence of nephrotic syndrome (Kazantzis et al. 1962). 

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