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Mercury exists in various chemical forms. The important forms from a toxicological viewpoint are the metallic form, also called the elemental form, the divalent inorganic forms and methylmercury compounds. Elemental (Hg0) mercury has a high vapor pressure and the vapor causes a number of cases of poisoning via inhalation. Classical mercury poisoning is characterized by a triad of signs, namely tremors, erethism and gingivitis. Mercurial erethism, which is characterized by behavioral and personality changes such as extreme shyness, excitability, loss of memory, and insomnia are also observed. Recently, the effects of mercury exposure at levels around 0.05 mg/m3 or lower have been of concern and may include minor renal tubular damage, increased complaints of tiredness, memory disturbance and other symptoms, subclinical finger tremor, abnormal EEG by computerized analysis and impaired performance in neurobehavioral or neuropsychological tests. Abnormal gait, dysarthria, ataxia, deafness and constriction of the visual field are typical of the symptoms of methylmercury poisoning observed in Minamata and Iraqi outbreaks, as well as in occupational methylmercury poisoning cases. Furthermore, an infant born to a mother with excessive methylmercury consumption showed various neurological disturbances and delayed development. Since several populations are believed to be still exposed to methylmercury through the consumption of fish and sea mammals, neurobehavioral deviations in children of these populations have recently been investigated.
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PMID:Occupational and environmental toxicology of mercury and its compounds. 1081 38

We describe the clinical and genetic characteristics of the 85 definite or probable human prion diseases cases died between January 1993 and December 2002 in Catalonia (an autonomous community of Spain, 6 million population). Seventy-three (86%) cases were sporadic Creutzfeld-Jakob diseases (sCJD) (49 definite, 24 probable), with a median age at onset of 66 years. The clinical presentation was dementia in 29 cases, ataxia in 14 and visual symptoms in five. The median survival was 3 months. The 14-3-3 assay was positive in 93% cases, 62% presented periodic sharp wave complexes (PSWC) in EEG but only 18% the typical signs on MRI. Forty-eight sCJD were studied for codon 129 PRNP polymorphism: 69% were methionine/methionine (M/M), 14.5% valine/valine (V/V) and 16.5% M/V. Six out of seven V/V cases did not present PSWC and in two survival was longer than 20 months. Eleven cases (13%) were genetic: five familial fatal insomnia and six familial CJD (fCJD). Up to four (67%) fCJD lacked family history of disease, two presented seizures early at onset and one neurosensorial deafness. The only iatrogenic case was related to a dura mater graft. No case of variant CJD was registered. The study confirms in our population the consistent pattern reported worldwide on human prion diseases. Atypical features were seen more frequently in sporadic 129 V/V CJD and fCJD cases.
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PMID:Clinical and genetic features of human prion diseases in Catalonia: 1993-2002. 1546 48

LIN Xue-Jian adopts Chinese traditional acupuncture and moxibustion manipulation methods to stimulate the special area of scalp to treat a part of brain-derived diseases, such as infantile cerebral palsy, nerve deafness, cerebellar ataxia, lacunar cerebral infarction, senile dementia, Parkinson's disease, anxiety, insomnia and central constipation, and so on. Scalp acupuncture can improve ability of blood and oxygen supply for general blood vessels; stimulation of corresponding acupoint area according to symptoms and signs can control condition of disease; and can repair, activate and regenerate the injured, dormancy and aging neurons, so as to dredge nerve network in the brain, hence better therapeutic effect.
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PMID:[Lin Xue-Jian's experience on treatment of a part of cerebral diseases with scalp acupuncture]. 1631 37

The aim of this study was to determine oxidative stress status as well as blood lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) levels and clinical markers in workers of a Zn-Pb mine. A comparative cross-sectional analysis was performed in 67 mine workers who have been in contact with Zn and Pb in comparison to a control group containing 67 healthy subjects with the same age and sex. Lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione reductase, myleoperoxidase, DNA damage, total antioxidant capacity, Zn, and Pb levels were measured in blood of workers and controls. Clinical examination was accomplished to record any abnormal sign or symptoms. Comparing with controls, the workers showed higher blood levels of superoxide dismutase, myleoperoxidase, glutathione reductase, lipid peroxidation, Pb, and Zn. Workers showed lower DNA-damage as compared with controls. Workers showed clinical symptoms such as memory impairment, less of concentration, insomnia, headache, claudication, epigasteric, inappetence, agitation, tremor, decreasing of reflection of deep tendon, conduction deafness of ear, and fatigue. The workers had extra normal levels of Pb (0.9-3 microg/dL) and showed oxidative stress. Taken together, the results indicate that exposure to combination of Pb and Zn in mine elevates total antioxidant capacity of body in a reflex to overcome to oxidative stress. Especially, in the present case, it seems that toxic effect of Pb has been greater than positive effects of Zn, but the combination exposure has resulted in not such a critical toxicity situation.
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PMID:Study on clinical and biochemical toxicity biomarkers in a zinc-lead mine workers. 2037 35

This review aims to explore the toxicological aspects of mercury-based herbo-metallic preparations like cinnabar and "Rasasindura" that are primarily composed of mercuric sulfide (HgS). Cinnabar-containing preparations have been used extensively in Indian and Chinese systems of medicine for treatment of chronic ailments like syphilis, high fever, pneumonia, insomnia, nervous disorders, deafness, and paralysis of the tongue. Contrary to Western medicine, which does not promote the use of mercury due to its toxic effects, Indian and Chinese traditional practitioners believe that mercury-based formulations have potent therapeutic efficacy, while there is no toxicity due to the unique and repeated purification processes employed during preparation. However, lack of proper pharmacovigilance and widespread self-medication has resulted in undesirable effects to certain sections of the consumers of these preparations, which have contributed to the negative publicity for these forms of medicine. Variations in the quality of the preparations coupled with the lack of understanding of the differences in the recommended dosages and treatment strategies adopted by traditional medicine practitioners, further fuels concerns in the Western world on the safety and efficacy of traditional medicine. But in spite of these concerns, concerted efforts to understand the biological interactions and transformations of these preparations are yet to gain momentum. Although scattered reports on the toxicity of these preparations are available in literature, their mechanism of action has not been conclusively established. Long-term pharmacotherapeutic and in-depth toxicity studies are needed to address the apprehensions raised by these herbo-metallic preparations. This review highlights the lacunae in the studies conducted thus far, and assesses the need for further studies to provide significant data to establish the safety and efficacy of such preparations, as well as develop gold standards for stringent quality control of these preparations.
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PMID:Mercury-based traditional herbo-metallic preparations: a toxicological perspective. 2244 26

The objective is to study the therapeutic effects of Gushen Pian on sensorineural deafness according to the Phase II clinical trial protocol, as approved for novel traditional Chinese medicines by Ministry of Health of PRC. This is a double blind study in which 120 patients were allocated randomly into treatment and control groups and an open treatment group (40 cases in each group). Patients in the treatment groups were administrated with Gushen Pian and controls received placebo. Routine examination of blood and urine, hepatic and renal function tests and pure tone audiometry were performed before and after treatment. Clinical symptoms and therapeutic outcomes were compared and evaluated. For double-blind treatment group, the total effective rate of deafness was 42.2% and total relieved rate of deafness was 4.6%; for double-blind control group, the total effective rate of deafness was 18.7% and total relieved rate of deafness was 0%; for simple treatment group, the total effective rate of deafness was 58.7% and total relieved rate of deafness was 6.3%. For double-blind treatment group, the total effective rate of tinnitus was 89.2% and total relieved rate of tinnitus was 59.5%; for double-blind control group, the total effective rate of tinnitus was 30.8% and total relieved rate of tinnitus was 5.1%; for simple treatment group, the total effective rate of tinnitus was 74.3% and total relieved rate of tinnitus was 57.1%. The double-blind treatment showed statistically significant differences from control group. The medication could effectively alleviate aural fullness, dizziness, lassitude of loins and knees, dysphoria with feverish sensation in chest, insomnia, and fatigue, etc. No adverse effect was reported during treatment; no abnormal results were reported in blood, urine, faces, heart function, liver function and kidney function examination. Gushen Pian had beneficial effect on deafness and tinnitus and could effectively alleviate aural fullness, insomnia, etc., without any adverse effects.
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PMID:Clinical investigation on the beneficial effects of the Chinese medicinal herb Gushen Pian on sensorineural deafness and tinnitus. 2351 92