A review on the distribution of Hg in the environment and its human health impacts

The toxicology of mercury: Current research and emerging trends

Neurodegeneration is a broadly defined term that describes the loss of neuronal structure and function, and produces disorders known as neurodegenerative diseases. A common feature of neurodegeneration is the progressive cell loss in specific neuronal populations of the central nervous system (CNS), often associated with cytoskeletal protein changes that led to intracytoplasmic and/or intranuclear inclusions in neurons and/or glia. The neurological consequences of neurodegeneration in patients are often devastating and result in severe mental and physical effects, accounting for a large number of hospitalizations and disabilities. Although the causes of the majority of neurodegenerative diseases are still unknown, it has become increasingly clear that the major basic processes that induce neurodegeneration are multifactorial ones that are caused by genetic, endogenous, and environmental factors. Protein misfolding and aggregation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and phosphorylation impairment are the major shared neurodegenerative pathogenic processes (Jellinger 2003).

Mercury toxicity and neurodegenerative effects.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury: attempting to address the global controversy of dental amalgam use and mercury waste disposal.

Genetic background accounts for only 5 to 10% of the reported cases of Parkinson's disease (PD), while the remaining cases are of unknown etiology. It is believed that environmental factors may be involved in the causality of a large proportion of PD cases. Several PD genes are activated by xenobiotic exposure, and a link between pesticide exposure and PD has been demonstrated. Many epidemiological studies have shown an association between PD and exposure to metals such as mercury, lead, manganese, copper, iron, aluminum, bismuth, thallium, and zinc. This review explores the biological effects, the pathogenetic processes, genetic susceptibilities to metals as well as examining future strategies for PD treatment, such as chelation therapy.

Metals and Parkinson's Disease: Mechanisms and Biochemical Processes

It was claimed by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR)) in a report to the EU-Commission that "....no risks of adverse systemic effects exist and the current use of dental amalgam does not pose a risk of systemic disease..." [1, available from: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_o_016.pdf].

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Joachim Mutter

Papers

Is dental amalgam safe for humans? The opinion of the scientific committee of the European Commission