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Mowry JB, Spyker DA, Cantilena LR Jr, McMillan N, Ford M. 2013 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poison Data System (NPDS): 31st Annual Report. The disease was caused when methylmercury from the chemical factory of Chisso Corporation was released into the industrial wastewater. 6.6. These events were driving forces in the formation of modern toxicology. In a follow-up study of children in the Minamata area 20 years later, a strong association between the prevalence of mental retardation and the mercury concentration in the umbilical cord, customarily saved in Japanese families, was encountered (Harada et al., 1977). The biological half-life of organic mercury in humans is approximately 65 days. More commonly, toxic neuropathies involving axons are seen morphologically as affecting the distal axon or nerve terminus. Rats and monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) develop ataxia, impaired motor function, and gait abnormalities upon exposure to dietary organomercurials. There are several possible explanations for the differences in results between the two largest cohort studies. Methylmercury poisoning: long-term clinical, radiological, toxicological, and pathological studies of an affected family. Sixty-one years since Minamata disease was identified in 1956, the grim struggles have eased for only a few. [Medline].

1988 Nov. 24(5):651-9. [Medline]. [Medline]. Weil M, Bressler J, Parsons P, Bolla K, Glass T, Schwartz B. This topographical distribution of lesions correlates well with the primary neurological signs and symptoms (constriction of visual field, sensory disturbance, and cerebellar ataxia) observed in the patients with Minamata disease. Marsh et al. Anthropogenic sources, such as coal burning and mining of iron, can contaminate water sources with methylmercury. Washam C. Beastly beauty products: exposure to inorganic mercury in skin-lightening creams. 120(4):530-4. Updated June 2007. 2016 May. Apoptosis is also induced in 3-nitropropionic acid–exposed cells after 24–48 hours; however, the mechanism involved is not mediated by receptors or altered by the presence of glutamate [14]. Minamata disease can have growth deficiency, microcephaly (an abnormally small head), severe mental retardation and be deaf and blind. Clinical lectures of diseases of the nervous system. 2007 Jan. 17(1):25-30.

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ADHD-related behavior was assessed using a teacher rating scale and neurophysiological testing. Minamata disease was identified in Japan. Effects on mitochondrial function, calcium regulation and redox potentiation appear to contribute to many of the cellular impacts observed during neurodevelopment, including impaired cell proliferation, migration and neurotransmission, Tetsuo Satoh, Takeshi Morita, in Information Resources in Toxicology (Fourth Edition), 2009. Environ Res. These neurological signs were observed even among residents with hair mercury content below 50 μg g−1. Appl Neuropsychol.

The waste contained a toxic organic compound, methylmercury, which can cause severe damage to the brain and nervous system, leading to a condition called Minamata disease. [Medline]. 1334(2-3):303-11. [Medline]. Alhamad T, Rooney J, Nwosu A, Maccombs J, Kim YS, Shukla V. Lessons learned from a fatal case of mercury intoxication. However, it is a multidisciplinary field encompassing these subjects as well as other related life and social sciences. Methylmercury is the most toxic of organomercurials, primarily due to its persistence (as demethylated inorganic mercury) within the central nervous system. Changes in distribution and appearance of lesions due to chemical structure are commonly understood; it is well recognized that for a chemical to induce neurotoxicity directly (not through effects on another organ system) it must be able to be transported to and interact with a target site in the nervous system. Forty-six children were tested at 6 years of age and showed exposure-associated deficits in the Wechsler intelligence scale for children-revised or in a language development test compared with referents at maternal hair levels of 13-15 ppm (Crump et al., 1998). However, in both studies, there were differences between exposed and referents that were not fully controlled for. 2012 Jun. Environ Sci Technol. Clin Toxicol (Phila). Environmental Protection Agency. [Medline]. J Biol Chem. It should be pointed out that in the epidemiological studies of Iraqi epidemics, the recorded and observed signs were severe neurological impairment and retardation resulting from a high level of exposure for a limited period. Sci Total Environ. In some distal axonopathies (e.g., 2-t-butylazo-2-hydroxy-5-methylhexane), affected individuals have had significant impairment of pain sensation and bladder and sexual functions, suggesting advanced involvement of small axonal fibers in the PNS and autonomic nervous system. 1997 Aug. 39(8):707-14. [Medline]. In two children with severe psychomotor retardation, the highest mercury concentration in the hair of the mother during 1 month was approximately 50 mg/kg. Acta Neurol Scand. A significant negative correlation between cord blood Hg and NOS was found (Steuerwald et al., 2000). Forman J, Moline J, Cernichiari E, et al. Myers GJ, Davidson PW. [Full Text]. Boyd AS, Seger D, Vannucci S, Langley M, Abraham JL, King LE Jr. Mercury exposure and cutaneous disease. Pediatrics.

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On May 1, 1956, a doctor in Japan reported an "epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system," marking the official discovery of Minamata disease. Gerstenberger SL, Martinson A, Kramer JL. A fishing port, Minamata was also the home of Nippon Chisso Hiryo Co., a manufacturer of chemical fertilizer, carbide, and vinyl chloride. Zajac A. Mercury in dental fillings. Triunfante P, Soares ME, Santos A, Tavares S, Carmo H, Bastos Mde L. Mercury fatal intoxication: two case reports. Br Med J. Minamata disease was a neurological syndrome described in humans, birds, and cats that were exposed to methylmercury-contaminated fish in the Minamata area of Japan in the 1960s. Organomercurials also are secreted into milk. Kingman A, Albers JW, Arezzo JC, Garabrant DH, Michalek JE. Widespread destruction of the granule cells eventually occurs in prolonged intoxication.

Neurobehavioral effects of dental amalgam in children: a randomized clinical trial. Guide to eating Ontario sport fish, 2001-2002. The mean number of amalgam fillings during pregnancy was 5.1 (range 1-22) in the 42.4% of mothers who were amalgam bearers. Myelin damage in humans has been associated with exposure to hexachlorophene and triethyltin, both of which induce the accumulation of fluid within the myelin sheath. Intermediate morphologies have also been described. 2008 May. J Am Acad Dermatol. Guallar E, Sanz-Gallardo MI, van't Veer P, et al.

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Current progress on understanding the impact of mercury on human health. 397(1-3):131-9. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. This disease is caused due to the consumption of fish contaminated with methylmercury. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123864543000385, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780120885923500712, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780444594532000469, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124157590000418, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780080468846013294, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9781437708813000279, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128132135000067, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123786128000172, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128002285000066, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123735935000951, Encyclopedia of Toxicology (Third Edition), Except in some noteworthy situations, such as, Handbook on the Toxicology of Metals (Fourth Edition), In the Minamata epidemic of MeHg poisoning, 23 cases of prenatal intoxication (, Budtz-Jørgensen et al., 1999; Grandjean et al., 2012, Davidson et al., 1998; Huang et al., 2005; Myers et al., 2003, Choi et al., 2008; Oken and Bellinger, 2008, Strain et al., 2008; Stokes-Riner et al., 2011, Safety Assessment including Current and Emerging Issues in Toxicologic Pathology, Haschek and Rousseaux's Handbook of Toxicologic Pathology (Third Edition), The best known neurotoxic examples of alkylmercury are methylmercury and ethylmercury; both of these are short-chain organomercuric compounds.
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Minamata disease is caused through the absorption of methyl mercury into the body through various environmental sources, primarily through seafood. In another study by the Faroe group of 182 neonatals with prenatal exposure to MeHg and PCBs, similar to the Faroe cohort described previously, the neurological optimality score (NOS) was assessed. 188(2):301-8. In July 1996, a massive outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection occurred among schoolchildren in Sakai City and was associated with consumption of white radish sprouts. A classic example of environmental contamination due to mercury and its health implications is the outbreak of Minamata disease, an outbreak of children born with Bay disaster in Japan in 1950s, that witnessed a devastating epidemic of mercury poisoning. Please confirm that you would like to log out of Medscape. [Medline]. 107(1):6-19. [Medline]. N Engl J Med. Neuronal lesions are accompanied by multifocal to extensive areas of gliosis and spongiosis. 35(6):680-8. Later, analysis of fish led to the detection of organic Hg as the root of the problem (Fig. Prenatal methylmercury exposure and children: neurologic, developmental, and behavioral research. World Health Organization. The Mad Hatter's disease revisited. T Yorifuji, T Tsuda, in Encyclopedia of Toxicology (Third Edition), 2014. Significant strain and species variation in sensitivity to organomercurial teratogenesis exists. Different cell types and regions of the nervous system have differing vulnerabilities to neurotoxic organic chemicals depending on their metabolic capability, their relationship to the blood-brain and blood-nerve barriers, receptor content, blood flow, and other factors. 2011 Apr. Thimerosal and the occurrence of autism: negative ecological evidence from Danish population-based data. 2008 Nov. 108(3):334-9. [Medline]. [Medline]. July 27, 2009. Neurological effects include visual disturbances, ataxia, paresthesia, hearing loss, dysarthria, mental deterioration, muscle tremor, sensory dysfunction, movement disorders, behavioral changes, and death. Organomercurials readily cross the blood–brain barrier and placenta, where fetal blood levels can exceed maternal blood levels by up to 20%. [Medline]. In Minamata Bay, a factory discharged inorganic mercury into the water. Toxicological Profile for Mercury.

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