S. Allen Counter

Bio: S. Allen Counter is an academic researcher from Harvard University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Environmental exposure & Stapedius muscle. The author has an hindex of 19, co-authored 40 publications receiving 1394 citations. Previous affiliations of S. Allen Counter include Karolinska Institutet.

Elevated blood mercury and neuro-otological observations in children of the Ecuadorian gold mines.

Abstract: The prevalence of mercury (Hg) intoxication was investigated in 114 Andean Saraguro and non-Saraguro (Mestizo) children living in remote gold-mining settlements in Nambija and Portovelo, Ecuador. Venous blood samples showed a mean total blood mercury (BHg) level of 18.2 µg/L (SD 15.5; range 2-89.) for 77 Saraguro and non-Saraguro children in the Nambija settlement, which was significantly higher than that of children in the Portovelo and reference groups. Comparison of groups showed mean B-Hg levels of 26.4 µg/L (range 4-89 µg/L) for 32 indigenous/Saraguro children; 12.3 µg/L (range 2-33 µg/L) for 45 non-Saraguro children; 4.9 µg/L (range 1-10 µg/L) for 37 children in Portovelo; and 2.4 µg/L (range 1-6 µg/L) for a reference group of 15 children. Fisher's post hoc analysis revealed significant differences among groups, except between the Portovelo and the reference groups. Neuro-otological symptoms and abnormalities were observed in Saraguro, non-Saraguro, and Portovelo children. Samples of soil collected ...

Neurophysiological Anomalies in Brainstem Responses of Mercury-exposed Children of Andean Gold Miners

Abstract: The health hazards of occupational exposure to Mercury (Hg) in adult gold miners are well known, but little attention has been given to the effects of Hg exposure in the children of gold miners. Children who assist their parents in gold mining operations or live in mining enclaves may be exposed to elemental Hg vapors or methylmercury-contaminated food, both of which may induce neurodevelopmental disabilities. Brainstem auditory-evoked responses (BAER) were measured as biomarkers of subtle mercury-induced neurological impairment in Andean children of gold miners living in the Ecuadorian gold mining settlement of Nambija, where Hg exposure is prevalent. Thirty-one children (19 boys and 12 girls, aged 4-14 years, mean age: 10 years) in the study group were found to have a mean blood mercury (HgB) level of 23.0 micrograms/L (SD: 19, range: 2.0-89.0 micrograms/L; median: 20 micrograms/L), which was significantly higher than the mean HgB level of a reference group of 21 Ecuadorian children (4.5 micrograms/L, SD: 2.3; t = 4.39, P = 0.0001), and in excess of the health-based biological limits for the U.S. (10 micrograms/L). The BAER measures indicated statistically significant differences in interpeak III-V (P = 0.03) and I-V (P = 0.008) neural conduction times for children with HgB levels above the median. BAERs at the conventional click stimulus rate of 10/second showed statistically significant positive correlations between HgB level and the absolute latency of wave V (P = 0.03), and the neural conduction times of the eighth nerve to midbrain I-V interval (P = 0.02). BAER at 50/second revealed statistically significant relationships between HgB and the latency of wave VI (P = 0.03), and the I-VI interpeak interval (P = 0.02). Brainstem neural conduction times suggested that some of the Hg-intoxicated children in the study group have subtle neurophysiological anomalies that may be more manifest at higher BAER stimulus rates, and that the Hg-exposed children of gold miners are at risk for neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine

Abstract: The 11th edition of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine welcomes Anthony Fauci to its editorial staff, in addition to more than 85 new contributors. While the organization of the book is similar to previous editions, major emphasis has been placed on disorders that affect multiple organ systems. Important advances in genetics, immunology, and oncology are emphasized. Many chapters of the book have been rewritten and describe major advances in internal medicine. Subjects that received only a paragraph or two of attention in previous editions are now covered in entire chapters. Among the chapters that have been extensively revised are the chapters on infections in the compromised host, on skin rashes in infections, on many of the viral infections, including cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus, on sexually transmitted diseases, on diabetes mellitus, on disorders of bone and mineral metabolism, and on lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly. The major revisions in these chapters and many

Tools and tactics for the optical detection of mercuric ion.

Abstract: 9.2. Protein-Based Hg(II) Detectors 3467 9.3. Oligonucleotide-Based Hg(II) Detector 3467 9.4. DNAzyme-Based Hg(II) Detectors 3469 9.5. Antibody-Based Hg(II) Detector 3469 10. Mercury Detectors Based on Materials 3469 10.1. Soluble and Fluorescent Polymers 3469 10.2. Membranes, Films, and Fibers 3471 10.3. Micelles 3473 10.4. Nanoparticles 3473 11. Perspectives 3474 12. Addendum 3475 12.1. Small Molecules 3475 12.2. Biomolecules 3477 12.3. Materials 3477 13. List of Abbreviations 3477 14. Acknowledgments 3478 15. References 3478

Luminescent chemodosimeters for bioimaging.

Abstract: Yuming Yang,†,§ Qiang Zhao,‡,§ Wei Feng,† and Fuyou Li*,† †Department of Chemistry and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, P. R. China ‡Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays (KLOEID) and Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210046, P. R. China.

Methylmercury exposure and health effects in humans: a worldwide concern.

Abstract: The paper builds on existing literature, highlighting current understanding and identifying unresolved issues about MeHg exposure, health effects, and risk assessment, and concludes with a consensus statement. Methylmercury is a potent toxin, bioaccumulated and concentrated through the aquatic food chain, placing at risk people, throughout the globe and across the socioeconomic spectrum, who consume predatory fish or for whom fish is a dietary mainstay. Methylmercury developmental neurotoxicity has constituted the basis for risk assessments and public health policies. Despite gaps in our knowledge on new bioindicators of exposure, factors that influence MeHg uptake and toxicity, toxicokinetics, neurologic and cardiovascular effects in adult populations, and the nutritional benefits and risks from the large number of marine and freshwater fish and fish-eating species, the panel concluded that to preserve human health, all efforts need to be made to reduce and eliminate sources of exposure.