Four Cases of Abnormal Neuropsychological Findings in Children with High Blood Methylmercury Concentrations.
- Author:
Young Seoub HONG
1
;
Dae Seon KIM
;
Seung Do YU
;
Seong Hwan KIM
;
Jong Kuk KIM
;
Yu Mi KIM
;
Jae Ho YU
;
Ji Hyun JUNG
;
Byoung Gwon KIM
Author Information
1. Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Dong-A University, Busan, South Korea. kimds4@korea.kr
- Publication Type:Case Report
- Keywords:
Methylmercury;
Neuropsychological findings;
Fish consumption
- MeSH:
Blood-Brain Barrier;
Brain;
Child*;
Diet;
Epilepsy;
Female;
Follow-Up Studies;
Hair;
Humans;
Male
- From:Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
2013;25(1):18-
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Methylmercury (MeHg) easily crosses the blood-brain barrier and accumulates in the brain. Accumulated MeHg will cause neurological symptoms. We report four pediatric cases of neuropsychological findings with high blood MeHg concentrations. CASE PRESENTATION: Four children were admitted for follow-up study because their total mercury (THg) concentration in the blood was found to be high during a national survey. Case 1 was a 9-year-old female with a 16.6 microg/l blood THg concentration in the survey. During admission, the blood THg, hair THg, and blood MeHg concentration(mercury indices) were 21.4 microg/l, 7.2 microg/g, and 20.1 microg/l, respectively. In our neuropsychological examination, cognitive impairment and attention deficit were observed. Her diet included fish intake 2-3 times per week, and she had been diagnosed with epilepsy at 3 years of age. Case 2 was a 12-year-old male with blood THg of 15.4 microg/l in the survey and the mercury indices were 12.7 microg/l, 5.7 microg/g, and 11.8 microg/l, respectively, on admission. He was also observed to have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Case 3 was a 10-year-old male child with blood THg of 17.4 microg/l in the survey, and the mercury indices on admission were 21.6 microg/l, 7.5 microg/g and 21.5 microg/l, respectively. In his case, mild attention deficit was observed. Case 4 was a 9-year-old male with blood THg of 20.6 microg/l in the survey and the mercury indices were 18.9 microg/l, 8.3 microg/g, and 14.4 microg/l, respectively, on admission. Mild attention difficulty was observed. CONCLUSION: We suggest that fish consumption may be the main source of MeHg exposure, and that MeHg may have been the cause of the neuropsychological deficits in these cases.
