OBJECTIVES The study aimed at assessing the effect of low-level exposure to mercury (Hg) vapor from amalgam fillings among dental surgery staff in the city of Łódź, Poland. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study group was composed of 51 workers (mean age, 39.25+/-11.05 years) employed in dental surgeries; the control group comprised 16 white-collar workers (mean age, 40.05+/-10.57 years) of the Nofe...

The Problem ..............................................................................................................................................................1 Pathophysiology ........................................................................................................................................................3 Mercury Toxicity Symptoms ................................

We describe four men who had symptoms of acute mercury poisoning following exposure to mercury vapor. They were attempting home gold ore purification using a gold-mercury amalgam and sulfuric acid. Three of the four patients required treatment with penicillamine. The clinical and laboratory data are presented along with pulmonary function test results. Long-term follow-up of one patient indicat...

Background and Aim. Although mercury is involved in several immunological diseases, nothing is known about its implication in celiac disease. Our aim was to evaluate blood and urinary levels of mercury in celiac patients. Methods. We prospectively enrolled 30 celiac patients (20 treated with normal duodenal mucosa and 10 untreated with duodenal atrophy) and 20 healthy controls from the same geo...

CONTEXT No randomized trials have been published that address the concern that inhalation of mercury vapor released by amalgam dental restorations causes adverse health effects. OBJECTIVE To compare the neuropsychological and renal function of children whose dental caries were restored using amalgam or mercury-free materials. DESIGN AND SETTING The New England Children's Amalgam Trial was a...

The three modern "faces" of mercury are our perceptions of risk from the exposure of billions of people to methyl mercury in fish, mercury vapor from amalgam tooth fillings, and ethyl mercury in the form of thimerosal added as an antiseptic to widely used vaccines. In this article I review human exposure to and the toxicology of each of these three species of mercury. Mechanisms of action are d...

Environmental factors can play an important role in the development of autoimmune thyroiditis (AT) and other autoimmune diseases. This article reviews the role of heavy metals and infectious agents in AT. Currently, the genes responsible for a metal-induced pathology are known in experimental animals but similar knowledge is lacking in man. Metals such as nickel or mercury induce delayed type T...

OBJECTIVES Dental amalgam has been used as a common restorative material since the 1800s, but concerns have been raised regarding its purported neuropsychological effects due to the neurotoxicity of mercury. In this study, a nationwide population-based database was employed to investigate the association of dental amalgam restoration with the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD...

People are exposed to mercury in daily life by means of food, batteries, broken thermometers and fluorescent lamps, and amalgam. Neurotoxicity and reproductive toxicity of mercury are well known. However, the relationship between mercury poisoning and its effects on the cardiac conduction system has not been clearly identified. Sodium 2, 3-dimercaptopropane-1-sulfonate (DMPS) is a metal chelati...