Abstract
The total mercury concentrations in the liver (Hg-L), the kidney cortex (Hg-K) and the cerebral cortex (Hg-C) of 108 children aged 1 day-5 years, and the Hg-K and Hg-L of 46 fetuses were determined. As far as possible, the mothers were interviewed and their dental status was recorded. The results were compared to mercury concentrations in the tissues of adults from the same geographical area. The Hg-K (n = 38) and Hg-L (n = 40) of fetuses and Hg-K (n = 35) and Hg-C (n = 35) of older infants (11–50 weeks of life) correlated significantly with the number of dental amalgam fillings of the mother. The toxicological relevance of the unexpected high Hg-K of older infants from mothers with higher numbers of dental amalgam fillings is discussed.
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Abbreviations
- Hg-C :
-
total mercury concentration in the cerebral cortex (ng/g wet weight)
- Hg-K :
-
total mercury concentration in the renal cortex (ng/g wet weight)
- Hg-L :
-
total mercury concentration in the liver (ng/g wet weight)
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Drasch, G., Schupp, I., Höfl, H. et al. Mercury burden of human fetal and infant tissues. Eur J Pediatr 153, 607–610 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02190671
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02190671