Mercury & Alzheimer's Review Paper

[Guest guest]

New systematic review and press release from IAOMT on mercury and

alzheimers.

J Alzheimers Dis. 2010 Aug 30. [Epub ahead of print]

Does Inorganic Mercury Play a Role in Alzheimer's Disease? A Systematic

Review and an Integrated Molecular Mechanism.

Mutter J, Curth A, Naumann J, Deth R, Walach H.

Department of Environmental and Integrative Medicine, Constance, Germany

and Ameos Klinikum Dr. Heines, Bremen, Germany.

Abstract

Mercury is one of the most toxic substances known to humans. It has been

introduced into the human environment and has also been widely used in

medicine. Since circumstantial evidence exists that the pathology of

Alzheimer's disease (AD) might be in part caused or exacerbated by

inorganic mercury (IM), we conducted a systematic review using a

comprehensive search strategy. Studies were screened according to a

pre-defined protocol. Two reviewers extracted relevant data independent

of each other. One thousand and forty one references were scrutinized,

and 106 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Most studies were case

control or comparative cohort studies. Thirty-two studies, out of 40

testing memory in individuals exposed to IM, found significant memory

deficits. Some autopsy studies found increased mercury levels in brain

tissues of AD patients. Measurements of mercury levels in blood, urine,

hair, nails, and cerebrospinal fluid were inconsistent. In vitro models

showed that IM reproduces all pathological changes seen in AD, and in

animal models IM produced changes that are similar to those seen in AD.

Its high affinity for selenium and selenoproteins suggests that IM may

promote neurodegenerative disorders via disruption of redox regulation.

IM may play a role as a co-factor in the development of AD. It may also

increase the pathological influence of other metals. Our mechanistic

model describes potential causal pathways. As the single most effective

public health primary preventive measure, industrial, and medical usage

of mercury should be eliminated as quickly as possible.

***

November 15, 2010 09:13 AM Eastern Time

Mercury Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease

“The Disease Destined to Bankrupt this Nation”

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mercury likely plays a role in the

development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to a review of

relevant scientific literature published this month in The Journal of

Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Joachim Mutter of Germany, Dr. Deth of

the United States, and other esteemed researchers collaborated on the

groundbreaking article Does Inorganic Mercury Play a Role in Alzheimer’s

Disease? A Systematic Review and an Integrated Molecular Mechanism,

which clarifies the need for continuing research to understand the cause

of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

“will bankrupt every family in this country.”

The authors of the review use numerous peer-reviewed studies to suggest

that a genetic predisposition and exposure to a neurotoxin such as

mercury have to co-exist for Alzheimer’s disease to manifest itself. Dr.

Deth, co-author and professor of neuro-pharmacology at

Northeastern University in Boston, explains: " Since the brain is more

vulnerable to oxidative stress than any other organ, it is not

surprising that mercury, which promotes oxidative stress, is an

important risk factor for brain disorders. " Dr. Deth’s motto: “Mercury

is bad for the brain.”

The research of the former chair of the University of Kentucky’s

Chemistry Department, Dr. Boyd Haley, is congruent with Drs. Deth and

Mutter’s findings. Dr. Haley, who has done research on the relationship

between mercury and Alzheimer’s disease for more than twenty years,

states: “Earlier research on the biochemical abnormalities of the

Alzheimer’s Diseased (AD) brain showed that mercury, and only mercury,

at very low levels induced the same biochemical abnormalities when added

to normal human brain homogenates or in the brains of rats exposed to

mercury vapor.”

Insofar as the genetic component, Haley contends: “The structure of the

genetic risk protein for Alzheimer’s disease, called APO-E4, shows it

has lost the ability to bind and remove mercury from the cerebrospinal

fluid, the fluid that bathes the brain, when compared to the other forms

of APO-E protein.”

Mercury has been the subject of controversy in various public health

issues over the years, including its use in vaccines and dental amalgam

fillings.

Norway, Sweden, and Denmark officially banned the use of mercury in

dental fillings based on the Precautionary Principal, a protective

doctrine requiring proof of safety -- a doctrine rejected by the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Prior to these bans, the World Health Organization reported in 1991 that

mercury fillings, routinely described as silver fillings to the public,

are by far the greatest contribution to mercury in the human body.

This December, the FDA is expected to review scientific literature

pertaining to the harmful effects of placing mercury fillings into the

body. Scientists and experts in the field will present testimony

regarding the relationship between mercury toxicity and neurological

diseases, with a special focus on vulnerable populations including

children and the unborn. Dr. Haley will be among the scientists presenting.

Lamenting that Alzheimer’s has reached epidemic proportions,

California’s first lady Shriver, in a recent interview with ABC’s

Diane Sawyer, vehemently expressed the need to find the cause of AD,

expressing concern that AD “will bankrupt every family in this country.”

The Alzheimer's Association estimates 172 billion dollars in annual

costs to maintain AD patients, which makes it imperative for the cause

of AD to be found.

Mutter and Deth’s research sheds strong light on the possible root of

the sixth leading cause of death in America.

Dr. Matt Young, President of International Academy of Oral Medicine and

Toxicology (IAOMT), an academy of dental, medical, and research

professionals dedicated to safety in health care, which has held a

continued focus on mercury’s effects, said, " Mercury must seriously be

considered as a causal agent of Alzheimer's. It is imperative that the

National Institute of Health fund realistic research regarding the

mercury Alzheimer's connection, which heretofore has for the most part

been ignored. "

Note:

Mutter-Deth published article available by request.

Interviews with quoted scientists can be arranged.

Contacts

On behalf of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology

(www.IAOMT.org)

Freya Koss, Publicist

610-649-2606

frekoss@...

or

Kennedy, DDS

619-222-8177

davidkennedy-dds@...