Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-gvh9x Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-17T04:45:37.307Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Methylmercury Poisoning in Canadian Indians — The Elusive Diagnosis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Brian Wheatley ,
André Barbeau ,
Thomas W. Clarkson  and
Lowell W. Lapham
Brian Wheatley*
Affiliation:
Medical Services Branch, National Health and Welfare Canada and the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal and the Environmental Health Sciences Center, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York
André Barbeau
Affiliation:
Medical Services Branch, National Health and Welfare Canada and the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal and the Environmental Health Sciences Center, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York
Thomas W. Clarkson
Affiliation:
Medical Services Branch, National Health and Welfare Canada and the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal and the Environmental Health Sciences Center, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York
Lowell W. Lapham
Affiliation:
Medical Services Branch, National Health and Welfare Canada and the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal and the Environmental Health Sciences Center, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York
*
Medical Services Branch, Health and Welfare Canada, Room 1954, Jeanne Mance Building, Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa, K1A 0L3, Canada
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary:

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

A World Health Organization Expert Committee has concluded that symptoms of methylmercury poisoning may appear at blood concentrations of 200-500 ng Hg/ml. Blood levels in this range have been found in several Indian and Inuit communities in Canada. The syndrome of severe methylmercury poisoning (Hunter-Russell syndrome) is well described. However, diagnosis of less severe cases is difficult. This paper reviews the present situation in Canada. The problems of diagnosis currently being encountered are discussed and are illustrated by the case of an individual who had one of the highest blood concentrations (551 ng Hg/ml) ever described in fish-eating populations outside of the outbreaks in Minamata and Niigata in Japan. Although mercury concentrations in brain were estimated to have been in the “symptomatic” range at least once in the two years prior to his death, neurohisiological examination was normal. Detailed examination by two teams of neurologists revealed effects that may be associated with methylmercury poisoning but a definitive diagnosis remained elusive.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , November 1979 , pp. 417 - 422
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1979

References

Al-Damluji, S.F. and The Clinical Committee on Mercury Poisoning (1976) Intoxication due to alkylmercury-treated seed 1971–72 outbreak in Iraq: Clinical Aspects. In: Conference on intoxication due to alkylmercury-treated seed. Baghdad. Iraq. 9–13 Sept. 1974. Supplement to Vol. 53 of the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. W.H.O.. Geneva pp. 65–81.Google Scholar
Al-Saleem, T. and The Clinical Committee on Mercury Poisoning (1976) Levels of mercury and Pathological changes in patients with organomercury poisoning. In: Supplement to Vol. 53 of Bull. W.H.O.. Geneva pp. 99–104.Google Scholar
Al-Shahristani, H., Shihab, K. and Al-Haddad, I.K. (1976) Mercury in hair as an indicator of total body burden. In: Supp. to Vol. 53 of Bull. W.H.O., Geneva pp. 105–112.Google Scholar
Amin-Zaki, L.Elhassani, S., Majeed, M.A., Clarkson, T.W., Doherty, R.A., Greenwood, M.R. and Gio-Vanoli-Jakubczak, T. (1976) Perinatal methylmercury poisoning in Iraq. Amer. J. Dis. Children 130. 1070–1076.Google ScholarPubMed
Armstrong, F.A.J, and Hamilton, A.L. (1973) Pathways of Mercury in a Polluted Northwestern Ontario Lake. In: Toxic Metals and Metal-Organic Interactions in Natural Waters. Ann Arbor Science Publishers. Michigan, pp. 131–156.Google Scholar
Bakir, F., Damluji, S.F., Amin-Zaki, L., Murthada, M., Khalidi, A., Alrawi, N.Y., Tikriti, S., Dhahir, H.I., Clarkson, T.W., Smith, J.C. and Doherty, R.A. (1973) Methylmercury poisoning in Iraq. Science 181, 230–241.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barbeau, A., Nantel, A. and Dorlot, F. (1976) Étude sur les effets médicaux et toxicologiques du mercure organique dans le Nord-Ouest Quèbécois. Ministère des Affaires sociales du Québec, Québec.Google Scholar
Ber Kes, F.et al. (1972) Environmental Aspects of the Pulp and Paper Industry in Quebec. McGill University. Montreal, pp. 171–178.Google Scholar
Bishop, J.M. and Neary, B.P. (1976) Mercury Levels in Fish from Northwestern Ontario. 1970–1975. Ministry of the Environment. Ontario.Google Scholar
Clarkson, T.W. (1976) Exposure to methylmercury in Grassy Narrows and Whitedog Reserves. Report for Medical Services Branch, Health and Welfare Canada.Google Scholar
Environment Canada and Environmental Protection Service. Quebec (1972) An Investigation into the Source and Distribution of Mercury in the Environment of Northwestern Quebec.Google Scholar
Health and Welfare Canada (1978) Joint Epidemiology Study on the effects of mercury. News Release # 1978 – 31. Montreal.Google Scholar
Ganther, H E., Goudie, C.Sunde, M.L., Kopeck, Y.M.J., Wagner, P., Oh, S.H. and Hoekstra, WG. (1972) Selenium: Relation to decreased toxicity of methylmercury added to diets containing tuna. Science 175. 1122–1124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Giovanoli-Jakubczak, T., Greenwood, M.R., Smith, J.C. and Clarkson, T.W. (1974) Determination of Total and Inorganic Mercury in Hair by Flameless Atomic Absorption and of Methylmercury bv gas chromatography. Clin. Chem. 20(2). 222–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grant, C.A. (1973) Pathology of experimental methylmercury intoxication: some problems of exposure and response. In: Mercury. Mercurials, and Mercaptans. (Miller, M.W. and Clarkson, T.W. eds) Charles C. Thomas. Springfield, 111. pp. 294–310.Google Scholar
Harada, M., Tadashi, F.Taketoshi, A., Susumo, N.. (1976) Epidemiological and Clinical Study and Historical Background of mercury pollution on Indian Reservations in Northwest Ontario. Canada. Bulletin of Institute of Constitutional Medicine 26. 3.4. 169–184.Google Scholar
Hunter, D. and Russell, D.S. (1954) Focal Cerebral and Cerebellar atrophy in a human subject due to organic mercury compounds. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psvchiat. 17. 235–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, S. and Jernelov, A. (1969) Biological Methylation of Mercury in Aquatic organisms. Nature 223. 753–754.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kahn, E. (1971) Perspective on tuna fish. New England J. Med. 285. 49–50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Katsuma, M. ed. (1968) Minamata Disease. Study Group of Minamata Disease, Kumamota University. Japan.Google Scholar
Kershaw, T., Clarkson, T.W. and Dhahir, P.H. (1979) The relationship between blood levels and dose of methylmercury in man. Submitted for publication.Google Scholar
Kolbye, A. (1973) In: Proceedings of Conference on Heavy Metals in the Aquatic Environment (Krenkel, D.A. ed) Pergam-mon Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Magos, L. and Clarkson, T.W. (1972) Atomic Absorption Determination of Total, Inorganic and Organic Mercury in Blood. J. Am. Off. Anal. Chem. 55, 966–971.Google Scholar
Magos, L., Bakir, F.Clarkson, T.W., Al-Jawad, A.M. and Al-Soffi, M.H. (1976) Tissue levels of mercury in autopsy specimens of liver and kidney. In: Supp. to Vol. 53 of Bull. W.H.O. Geneva pp. 93–97.Google Scholar
Morrison, A.B. (1971) The Canadian approach to acceptable daily intakes of mercury in foods. In: Proceedings of Royal Society of Canada Symposium on Mercury in Man’s Environment. 157–164Google Scholar
Nordberg, G.F. (1976) In: Effects and Dose Response Relationships of Toxic Metals. Elsevier Scientific Pub. Co.. Amsterdam pp. 80–85.Google ScholarPubMed
Phelps, R.W., Clarkson, T.W., Kershaw, T.G. and Wheatley, B. (1979) Interrelationships of Blood and Hair mercury concentrations in a North American population exposed to methylmercury. Submitted for publication.Google Scholar
Prichard, J.S. (1976) Letter to Dr. B. Wheatley. Medical Services Branch. Health and Welfare Canada.Google Scholar
Shepard, D.A.E. (1976) Methylmercury Poisoning in Canada. Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol. 114: No. 5, 463–472.Google Scholar
Skerfving, S. and Vostal, D. (1972) Symptoms and Signs of intoxication. In: Mercury in the Environment. (Friberg, L. and Vostal, D. eds) CRC press. Cleveland, Ohio. pp. 93–107.Google Scholar
Skerfving, S. (1978) Interaction between Selenium and Methylmercury. Environmental Health Perspectives 25, 57–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Swedish Expert Group (1971) Methylmercury in Fish. A toxicologic-epidemiologic evaluation of risks. Report from an Expert Group. Nordisk Hygiensk Tidskrift. Suppl. 4National Institute of Public Health, Stockholm.Google Scholar
Syversen, T.L.M. (1977) Effects of methylmercury on in vivo protein synthesis in isolated cerebral and cerebellar neurons. Neuropath, and Appi. Neurobiol. 3, 225–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Takeuchi, T. and Eto, K. (1977) Pathology and Pathogenesis of Minamata Disease. In: Minamata Disease (Tsubaki, T. and Irukayama, K. eds.) Elsevier Scientific Pub. Co., Amsterdam pp. 103–141.Google ScholarPubMed
Tsubaki, T., Sato, T., Kondo, K., Shirakawa, K., Kambayashi, K., Hirota, K, Yamada, K.Murone, I. (1967) Oubreak of intoxication by organic mercury compounds in Niigata Prefecture: An epidemiological and clinical study. Japanese Journal of Medicine, 6. 32.Google Scholar
Weiss, B. and Simon, W. (1975) Quantitative Perspectives on Long-term toxicity of methylmercury and similar poisons. In: Behavioral Toxicology, (Weiss, B. and Laties, V.G. eds) Plenum Publish. Co. New York. Chapter 16. pp. 429–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wheatley, B. (1979) Mercury Program Review, Medical Services Branch. Health and Welfare Canada, Ottawa.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (1972) Evaluation of mercury, lead, cadmium and the food additives amaranth, diethylpyrocarbonate, and octyl gallate. W.H.O. Food Additives, Series #4, W.H.O., Geneva.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (1974) The use of mercury and alternative compounds as seed dressings, (Joint FAO/WHO Meeting). W.H.O. Technical Report Series #555 W.H.O.. Geneva.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (1976) Environmental Health Criteria I. Mercury. W.H.O., Geneva.Google Scholar