Prenatal methylmercury poisoning: clinical observations over five years

Journal Article · Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1979 · Am. J. Dis. Child.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.1979.02130020064013· OSTI ID:5705445

Amin-Zaki, L ^[1]; Majeed, M A; Elhassani, S B; Clarkson, T W; Greenwood, M R; Doherty, R A

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1. Univ. of Baghdad, Iraq

Thirty-two infants prenatally exposed to methylmercury and their mothers were examined over a five-year period after the Iraqi methylmercury epidemic. Severity of poisoning in mothers was related to the peak mercury concentration in their hair and in the infants to the maximum concentration in maternal hair during pregnancy. In nine cases of cerebral palsy, methylmercury exposure occurred only during the last trimester. All infants except three (two were orphaned soon after birth and one was bottle-fed) were exposed postnatally via suckling. Whereas the mother's symptoms usually improved, the damage to the fetal nervous system appears to be permanent. Milder cases previously not identified in other studies are reported. The syndrome consists of varying degrees of developmental retardation in addition to exaggerated tendon reflexes and the pathologic extensor plantar reflex (minimal brain damage syndrome).

• OSTI ID: 5705445
• Journal Information: Am. J. Dis. Child.; (United States), Vol. 133
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
INFANTS
METHYLMERCURY
HEALTH HAZARDS
PREGNANCY
EPIDEMIOLOGY
IRAQ
NERVOUS SYSTEM DISEASES
TOXICITY
ANIMALS
ASIA
CHILDREN
DISEASES
HAZARDS
MAMMALS
MAN
MIDDLE EAST
NEONATES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC MERCURY COMPOUNDS
PRIMATES
VERTEBRATES
560306* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Man- (-1987)
550600 - Medicine