Bibliography of Selected Scientific Research on the Health Effects of Mercury Accumulation from Dental Amalgam

 

A THE ABSORPTION OF MERCURY FROM DENTAL FILLINGS

Fritz L. Lorscheider, Ph.D. and Murray S. Vimy, DDS. University of Calgary Medical School, Alberta, Canada.

Drs. Lorscheider and Vimy have shown definitively that mercury is continuously released from amalgam fillings, both as vapor and in microscopic particles, once the fillings are placed in the teeth. The mercury emitted from the fillings is transported to every part of the body via the air pathways, the digestive tract and the Mood stream, and accumulates in tissues and organ systems.

1. Dental Amalgam Mercury: Background. (A summary of research results on dental amalgam mercury to date.)M. J. Vimy and F. L. Lorscheider, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Physiuology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. May, 1993.

2. Dental "Silver" tooth fillings: a source of mercury exposure revealed by whole-body image scan and tissue analysis. By Leszek J. Hahn, Reinhard Woiber, Murray J. Vimy, Yoshimi Takahashi, and Fritz L. Lorscheider. FASEB Journal, Vol.3, Dec. 1989. pp.2641-2646.

3. Whole-body imaging of the distribution ofmercury released from dental fillings into monkey tissues.By Leszek J. Hahn, Reinhard Kloiber, Ronald W. Leininger, Murray J. Vimy, and Fritz L. Lorscheider.FASEB Journal, Vo. 4, Nov.1990, pp.3256-3260.

4. Mercury from dental "silver" tooth fillings impairs sheep kidney function. By N.D. Boyd, H.Benediktsson, M.J. Vimy, D.E. Hooper, and F. L. Lorscheider. American Journal of Physiology, No.261, 1991, pp. R1O1O-1014.

5. Maternal-fetal distribution of mercury (203HG) released from dental amalgam fillings. By M.J. Vimy, Y. Takahashi, and F.L. Lorscheider. American Journal of Physiology, No.258, 1990, pp. R939-945.

6. SYMPOSIUM OVERVIEW: Toxicity Assessment of Mercury Vapor from Dental Amalgams. By Peter L. Goering, W. Don Galloway, Thomas W. Clarkson, Fritz L. Lorscheider, Maths Berlin and Andrew S. Rowland. Journal of Fundamental and Applied Toxicology, vol.19, 1992, pp.319-329.

7. Evaluation ofthe safety issue of mercury release from dental fillings, Fritz L. Lorscheider and Murray J. Vimy. The FASEB Journal, Vol.7, December 1993, p1432-1433.

8. ADP-Ribosylation of Brain Neuronal Proteins Is Altered by In Vitro and In Vivo Exposure to Inorganic Mercury. Pawel Palkiewicz, Henk Zwiers, and Fritz L. Lorscheider. Journal of Neurochemistry,, Vol.62, No.5, 1994, pp.2049-2052

B. BASIC PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF BRAIN MERCURY ACCUMULATIONS FROM DENTAL AMALGAM MERCURY TO ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

William R. Markesbery, M.D., William D. Ehmann, M.D., (and colleagues at the University of Kentucky's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging).

Drs. Markesbery's and Ehmann's experiments have shown that there are higher concentrations of mercury in the autopsied brains of patients who died of Alzheimer's than are present in the autopsied brains of patients who did not have Alzheimer's. In the Alzheimer's patients' brains, there are also lower concentrations of selenium and zinc, the two chief mineral antagonists of mercury. Markesbery and Ehmann have also demonstrated that there are higher concentrations of mercury in the brains of people who have more and larger amalgam dental fillings. Additional research is underway to link the presence of amalgam mlings more closely with the incidence of Alzheimer's.

 

9. Trace element imbalances in isolated subcellular fractions of Alzheimer's disease brains. By David Wenstrup, William D. Ehmann, and William R. Markesbery. Brain Research, No 533, 1990, pp. 125-130.

10. Mercury imbalances in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. W. D. Ehmann, E. J. Kasarskis, and W. R. Markesbery. (In Press)

C. MERCURY AS A CAUSE OF TUBULIN TANGLES SIMILAR TO THOSE FOUND IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NON-INVASIVE TEST FOR ALZHEIMER'S

Boyd E. Haley, Ph.D. (and colleagues.) Professor of Medical Chemistry and Biochemistry, Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky.

Dr. Haley has produced tubulin defects in laboratory cultures of brain tissue by adding a low concentration of mercury plus EDTA, a common food additive. Tubulin defects are thought to be the mechanism which produces the neuro fibrillary tangles characteristic of Alzheimer's Disease. Haley has also identified the first biochemical marker for Alzheimer's, that is, an enzyme found in Alzheimer's patients cerebro-spinal fluid which is not found in normal persons and which could be used as one basis of diagnosis for the disease.

 

11. HG2+ induces GTF-Tubulin interactions in rat brain similar to those observed in Alzheimer's Disease. E. Duhr, C. Pendergrass, E. Kasarskis, J. Slevin & B. Haley. FASEB Journal, 1992. Abstract Dated December 3, 1991.

12. HgEDTA Complex Inhibits GTP Interactions With The E-Site of Brain Beta-Tubulin. Edward F. Duhr, James C. Pendergmass, John T. Slevin, and Boyd E. Haley. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol., 1993.

13. DMSA acid partially restores tubulin intereactions to both Alzheimer's Diseased brains and to HGEDTA treated control brains. J.C. Pendergrass, E.F. Duhr, J.T. Slevin, and B. E. Haley. Experimental Biology 93 Abstract, dated November 17, 1992.

14. Aberrant Guanosine Triphosphate-Beta- Tubulin Interaction in Alzheimer's Disease. Sabiha Khatoon, Ph.D., Susan R. Campbell, B.S., Boyd E. Haley, Ph.D.and John T. Slevin, M.D. Annals of Neurology, Vol.26, No.2, August 1989, pp. 210-215.

15. Detection of glutamine synthetase in the cerebrospinal fluid ofAlzheimer diseased patients: A Potential diagnostic biochemical marker. Debra Gunnersen and Boyd Haley. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Vol.89, pp. 11949-11953, December 1992, Biochemistry.

D. MERCURY CHELATING AGENTS AND MERCURY ABSORPTION MEASUREMENT

H. Vasken Aposhian, Ph.D., University Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.

Dr. Aposhian has established, through carefully constructed experiments, that in people who have amalgam fillings two-thirds of the total body burden of mercury is the product of mercury absorption from amalgam dental fillings. He has also created a scoring system based upon the number of fillings and the number of surfaces on the fillings, quantifying the expression of the amount of dental amalgam in an individual's mouth. Finally, he has also been experimenting with chelating agents which might remove mercury accumulations from the body.

16. Urinary mercury after administration of 2,3 dimercaptopropane- 1 -sulfonic acid: correlation with den -tal amalgam score. H. Vasken Aposhian, David C. Bruce, Wilfred Alter, Richard C. Dart, Katherine M. Hurlbut, and Mary M. Aposhian. The FASEB Journal, Vo. 6, April 1992, pp. 2472-2476.

17. DMSA and DMPS-Water soluble antidotes for heavy metal poisoning. H. Vasken Aposhian. American Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 1983, Vol.23,193-215.

18. Determination and Metabolism ofDithiol Chelating Agents, XII. Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics of Sodium 2, 3-Dimercap top ropane-2-Sulfonate in Humans. Richard M. Maiorino, Richard C. Cart, Dean E. Carter and H. Vasken Aposhian. The Jourmal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 1991, Vol. 259 No.2, pp.808-814.

19. MESO-2, 3 -DIMERCAPTOS UCCINIC ACID:Chemical, Pharmacological and Toxicological Properties of an Orally Effective Metal Chelating Agent. H. Vasken Aposhian and Mary M. Aposhian.

E. MERCURY AND RENAL DISEASE

James S. Woods, Battelle Seattle Research Center and the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, and colleagues.

Dr. Woods has been investigating how kidney tissue is damaged by the presence of maercury. He has also identified ways in which porphyrin relationships are disrupted by the presence of mercury, which could provide another type of marker to test for the presence of mercury in body tissues.

20. Mercury-induced H202 production and lipid per-oxidation in vitro in rat kidney mitochondria. Bert-Ove Lind, Dennis M. Miller and James S. Woods. Biochemical Pharmacology, Vol.42, 1991, Suppl. pp. S181-S187. Pergamon Press.

21. Urinary Porphyrin Profiles as Biomarkers of Trace Metal Exposure and Toxicity: Studies on Urinary Prophyrin Excretion Patterns in Rats during Prolonged Exposure to Methyl Mercury. James S. Woods, Miriam A. Bowers, and Holly A. Davis. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Vol.110, 1991, pp.464-476.

22. Enhancement of Gamma-Glutamylcysteine Syn-thetase mRNA in Rat Kidney by Methyl Mercury. James S. Woods, Holly A. Davis, and Robert P. Baer. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Vol. 296, No.1, July 1992, pp. 350-353.

23. Quantitative Determination of Porphyrins in Rat and Human Un tie and Evalution of Urinary Prophyrin Profiles during Mercury and Lead Exposures. Miriam A. Bowers, Lauri J. Aicher, Holly A. Davis, and James S. Woods. The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine, St. Louis. Vol.120, No.2, pp.272-281, August, 1992.

F. ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE

Anne 0. Summers, Ph.D., Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia

Dr. Summers has been engaged in research on gastrointestinal tract bacteria and their resistance to antibiotics, which is a serious and widespread medical problem. With the collaboration of Drs. Lorscheider and Vimy and Dr. Stuart Levy at Tufts University, she has demonstrated that bacterial resistance to antibiotics can be created by exposing g.i. tract bacteria to mercury, such as that absorbed into the g.i. tract through the presence of amalgam dental fillings in the mouth.

24. "Silver" Dental Fillings Provoke An Increase in Mercury and Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in the Mouth and Intestines of Primates. Anne 0. Summers, Murray Vimy and Fritz Lorscheider, The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) Newsletter, Fall 1991, Vol.9, No.3, pp.4-5.

25. Mercury Released from Dental "Silver" Fillings provokes an increase in Mercury- and Antibiotic-Resis-taut Bacteria in Oral and Intestinal Flora of Primates.

Anne 0. Summers, Joy Wireman, Murray J. Vimy, Fritz L.Lorscheider, Bonnie Marshall, Stuart B. Levy, Sam Bennett, and Lynne Billard. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 1993, Vol.37, No.4, p.825-834.

 

G. CLINICAL MEDICAL TREATMENT OF DENTAL-FILLING MERCURY TOXICITY

Alfred V. Zamm, M.D., FACA, FACP, ill Maiden Lane, Kingston, New York 12401-4597   Reports on clinical treatment of a wide variety of illnesses linked to dental amalgam mercury toxicity by a dermatologist and allergy specialist.

26. Candida Albicans Therapy: is there ever an end to it? Dental Mercury Removal: an effective adjunct. Alfred V. Zamm, M.D., FACA, FACP. Journal of 0rthomolecu-lar Medicine, Vol.1 No.4, pp.261-266.

27. Dental Mercury: A Factor That Aggravates and Induces Xenobiotic Intolerance. Alfred V. Zamm, M.D., FACA, FACP. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, Vo. 6 No.2, Second Quarter 1991, pp.67-77.

28. Mercury and Dentistry: What the Sensitive Patient Should Know. Alfred V. Zamm, M.D., FACA, FACP. The Mercury in Medicine and Dentistry Newsletter Quarterly, Vol.1 No.1, Autumn 1986, pp.1-8.

29. Removal of Dental Mercury: Often an Effective Treatment for the Very Sensitive Patient. Alfred V Zamm, MD, FACA, FACP. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, Vol.5, No.3, Third Quarter 1990, pp.138-

 

H. RESEARCH ON THE IMPACT OF DENTAL MERCURY ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, BRAIN, AND NEUROLOGICAL SYSTEM. David Eggleston, D.D.S.

30. Effect of dental amalgam and nickel alloys on T-lymphocytes: preliminary report. Eggleston, David W. DDS. Journal of prosthetic dentistry: May 1984, Vol 31, No.5.

31. Correlation of dental amalgam with mercury in brain tissue. Eggleston David W. DDS, Magnus Nylander DDS, et al. J. Pros. Dent. 58:704-7,1987

32. Dental Amalgam: A Review of the Literature. Eggleston, DW: Compend. Cont. Ed. Dent. Vol. X, No.9.