An observation on 15 individuals with exposure to mercury was made to see if there was any correlation between mercury levels in blood and urine. The data in this study have been subjected to statistical tests to support scientifically the validity of the results. (Summary)The Spearman coefficient of P = 0.015 and a correlation coefficient of 0.580 indicate a good correlation between the blood and urine levels on a group basis, although individually, there is no close correlation in any individual case. (Conclusion)
Absorption, Blood, Urine, Mercury

Mercurial sphygmomanometer is widely applied to NIBP as the basic medical equipment in hospitals, but it is dangerous. With the world-wide limit of mercurial sphygmomanometers, it is inevitable that the mercurial sphygmomanometers would be eliminated. At the same time, according to the requirement of the medical staff and for the technical side of medical engineering, we should set up a claim for the mercurial sphygmomanometers' substitute products.
Blood Pressure Determination ; instrumentation ; Mercury ; Sphygmomanometers

Humans ; Mercury ; blood ; urine ; Spectrometry, Fluorescence ; methods ; Spectrophotometry, Atomic ; methods

In the present study, we examined the relationship between average fish consumption, as well as the type of fish consumed and levels of mercury in the blood of pregnant women. We also performed follow-up studies to determine if blood mercury levels were decreased after counseling and prenatal education. To examine these potential relationships, pregnant women were divided into two groups: a study group was educated to restrict fish intake, whereas a control group did not receive any prenatal education regarding fish consumption. We measured blood mercury level and performed follow-up studies during the third trimester to examine any differences between the two groups. Out of the 63 pregnant women who participated in our study, we performed follow- up studies with 19 pregnant women from the study group and 12 pregnant women from control group. The average initial blood mercury level of both groups was 2.94 microgram/L, with a range of 0.14 to 10.75 microgram/L. Blood mercury level in the group who ate fish more than four times per month was significantly higher than that of the group who did not consume fish (p = 0.02). In follow-up studies, blood mercury levels were decreased in the study group but slightly increased in the control group (p = 0.014). The maternal blood mercury level in late pregnancy was positively correlated with mercury levels of cord blood (r = 0.58, p = 0.047), which was almost twice the level found in maternal blood. Pregnant women who consume a large amount of fish may have high blood mercury levels. Further, cord blood mercury levels were much higher than that of maternal blood. Because the level of fish intake appears to influence blood mercury level, preconceptual education might be necessary in order decrease fish consumption.
*Seafood ; Pregnancy/*blood ; Mercury/*blood ; Humans ; *Fishes/classification ; Fetal Blood/chemistry ; Female ; Diet ; Animals ; Adult

BACKGROUND: Methylmercury is an organic form of mercury that is highly toxic to humans. Here, we present and establish a novel method to detect methylmercury concentrations in the blood of Koreans. METHODS: Methylmercury concentration was analyzed with an automated methylmercury analytic system (MERX, Brooks Rand Co., USA) using cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrophotometry (CVAFS). A variety of biological materials were digested in methanolic potassium hydroxide solution. The analysis method was validated by examination of certified reference material (955c, National Institute of Standard and Technology, USA). We randomly selected 30 Korean adults (age 20 yr or older) to analyze total blood mercury and methylmercury concentrations. RESULTS: The detection limit and methylmercury recovery rate using this method were 0.1 pg/L and, 99.19% (range: 89.33-104.89%), respectively. The mean blood concentration of methylmercury was 4.54+/-2.15 microg/L (N=30). The mean proportion of methylmercury to the total mercury concentration was 78.27% (range: 41.37-98.80%). CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first report to analyze blood methylmercury concentration using CVAFS in Korea. We expect that this method will contribute to the evaluation of mercury exposure and the assessment of the toxicological impact of mercury in future studies.
Adult ; Humans ; Hydroxides/chemistry ; Mercury/blood ; Methylmercury Compounds/*blood ; Potassium Compounds/chemistry ; Reproducibility of Results ; Republic of Korea ; *Spectrophotometry, Atomic

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of chronic mercury poisoning on blood coagulation and fibrinolysis systems, and the possible mechanism.

METHODSTwenty-seven patients with chronic mercury poisoning were studied with 30 healthy people as control. Thrombomodulin (TM), tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI), interleukin-13 (IL-13), interleukin-18 (IL-18), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (SICAM-1) were examined with ELISA methods, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and lipid peroxidation (LPO) was examined with chemical catalysis methods. Two to three weeks after treatment with reduced glutathione, tiopronin and daidzein, blood was used for determin the above items again.

RESULTS(1) The concentration of TM in patients [(2.36 +/- 0.16) ng/ml] was significantly lower than in the control [(4.36 +/- 0.24) ng/ml] (P < 0.01), while TM tended to be higher after treatment [(4.82 +/- 0.34) ng/ml] (P < 0.05). (2) The concentration of t-PA in patients [(3.44 +/- 0.34) ng/ml] was significantly lower than in the control [(4.52 +/- 0.16) ng/ml] (P < 0.05), and was higher significantly [(5.63 +/- 0.58) ng/ml] after treatment (P < 0.05); The concentration of PAI in patients [(48.23 +/- 3.59) ng/ml] was significantly higher than in the control [(31.59 +/- 2.13) ng/ml] (P < 0.05), but after treatment no significant change [(50.71 +/- 4.29) ng/ml] was found (P > 0.05). (3) The activity of SOD in patients [(953.85 +/- 9.56) U/g Hb] was significantly lower than in the control [(1,308.75 +/- 10.21) U/g Hb] (P < 0.01), and was higher significantly [(1,217.95 +/- 6.29) U/g Hb] after treatment (P < 0.05); and the concentration of LPO in patients [(9.53 +/- 0.26) nmol/ml] was significantly higher than in the control (P < 0.05), and significantly lower [(7.29 +/- 0.35) nmol/ml] after treatment (P < 0.05). (4) The concentrations of IL-13 [(35.93 +/- 5.28) pg/ml], IL-18 [(28.79 +/- 2.53) pg/ml], SICAM-1 [(603.16 +/- 29.12) ng/ml] were significantly higher than those in the controls (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), but no significant difference was found after treatment.

CONCLUSIONDysfunction of the TM/protein C system and t-PA/PAI system (i.e. the decrease of anti-coagulation activity and the inhibition of the function for the fibrolysis system) may play a key role in the secondary hypercoagulable state induced by chronic mercury poisoning.

Adult ; Blood Coagulation ; physiology ; Case-Control Studies ; Chronic Disease ; Female ; Fibrinolysis ; physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Mercury Poisoning ; blood ; physiopathology ; Plasminogen Inactivators ; blood ; Thrombomodulin ; blood ; Tissue Plasminogen Activator ; blood

OBJECTIVES: The inherent nature of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) design requires special analysis by incorporating sample weights, stratification, and clustering not used in ordinary statistical procedures. METHODS: This study investigated the proportion of research papers that have used an appropriate statistical methodology out of the research papers analyzing the KNHANES cited in the PubMed online system from 2007 to 2012. We also compared differences in mean and regression estimates between the ordinary statistical data analyses without sampling weight and design-based data analyses using the KNHANES 2008 to 2010. RESULTS: Of the 247 research articles cited in PubMed, only 19.8% of all articles used survey design analysis, compared with 80.2% of articles that used ordinary statistical analysis, treating KNHANES data as if it were collected using a simple random sampling method. Means and standard errors differed between the ordinary statistical data analyses and design-based analyses, and the standard errors in the design-based analyses tended to be larger than those in the ordinary statistical data analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Ignoring complex survey design can result in biased estimates and overstated significance levels. Sample weights, stratification, and clustering of the design must be incorporated into analyses to ensure the development of appropriate estimates and standard errors of these estimates.
Adult ; Aged ; Blood Pressure ; Bone Density ; Cadmium/blood ; Creatinine/blood ; Female ; Hemoglobins/analysis ; Humans ; Lead/blood ; Male ; Mercury/blood ; Middle Aged ; *Nutrition Surveys ; PubMed ; Republic of Korea ; *Research Design

Mercury is a toxic and non-essential metal in the human body. Mercury is ubiquitously distributed in the environment, present in natural products, and exists extensively in items encountered in daily life. There are three forms of mercury, i.e., elemental (or metallic) mercury, inorganic mercury compounds, and organic mercury compounds. This review examines the toxicity of elemental mercury and inorganic mercury compounds. Inorganic mercury compounds are water soluble with a bioavailability of 7% to 15% after ingestion; they are also irritants and cause gastrointestinal symptoms. Upon entering the body, inorganic mercury compounds are accumulated mainly in the kidneys and produce kidney damage. In contrast, human exposure to elemental mercury is mainly by inhalation, followed by rapid absorption and distribution in all major organs. Elemental mercury from ingestion is poorly absorbed with a bioavailability of less than 0.01%. The primary target organs of elemental mercury are the brain and kidney. Elemental mercury is lipid soluble and can cross the blood-brain barrier, while inorganic mercury compounds are not lipid soluble, rendering them unable to cross the blood-brain barrier. Elemental mercury may also enter the brain from the nasal cavity through the olfactory pathway. The blood mercury is a useful biomarker after short-term and high-level exposure, whereas the urine mercury is the ideal biomarker for long-term exposure to both elemental and inorganic mercury, and also as a good indicator of body burden. This review discusses the common sources of mercury exposure, skin lightening products containing mercury and mercury release from dental amalgam filling, two issues that happen in daily life, bear significant public health importance, and yet undergo extensive debate on their safety.
Biological Availability ; Biological Markers/blood/urine ; Blood-Brain Barrier/metabolism ; Body Burden ; Dental Amalgam/chemistry/metabolism ; *Environmental Exposure ; Humans ; Mercury/chemistry/*metabolism ; Mercury Compounds/chemistry/*metabolism ; Skin Lightening Preparations/chemistry/metabolism

OBJECTIVETo study comparatively the characteristics of absorption and distribution of mercury and arsenic from realgar and cinnabar of Angong Niuhuang Pill in normal rats and the rats with cerebral ischemia after oral administration.

METHODThe blood samples and homogenates of liver, kidney and brain were prepared at various intervals after the animals were treated with Angong Niuhuang pill ig. The levels of total mercury and total arsenic in the blood and the organ homogenates were measured with Microwava Accelerated Reaction System and AAs, respectively.

RESULTThe blood concentrations of mercury and arseic reached the highest point in normal rats at one hour following single oral dosing of Angong Niuhuang pill. In normal rats, the mercury distribution was characterized by its higher level in blood and kidneys than in other organs, while a higher distribution of arsenic was found in blood than in organs. No difference in the distribution of mercury or arsenic was found between normal rats and rats with cerebral ischemia after the treatment with the pill.

CONCLUSIONThe highest level of mercury or arsenic in blood occurs at one hour after oral administration of the pill in normal rats. There is a higher distribution of mercury in blood and kidneys, while a higher distribution of the arsenic only in blood. There is no significant difference in the distribution of mercury or arsenic between the normal rats and the ischemic rats.

Animals ; Arsenic ; blood ; metabolism ; Arsenicals ; pharmacokinetics ; Brain Ischemia ; metabolism ; Drug Combinations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; pharmacokinetics ; Male ; Materia Medica ; isolation & purification ; pharmacokinetics ; Mercury ; blood ; metabolism ; Mercury Compounds ; pharmacokinetics ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Rats ; Sulfides ; pharmacokinetics ; Tissue Distribution

Objective: To investigate the health status of workers exposed to occupational mercury, and to provide the theoretical basis for formulating reasonable health monitoring and targeted protection measures. Methods: In November 2021, 1353 mercury-exposed workers who underwent occupational health examination in a hospital in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from 2018 to 2021 were collected as research subjects. By analyzing their blood pressure, electrocardiogram, blood routine, liver function and urine β2-microglobulin and urinary mercury in different gender, age, length of service, industry and enterprise scale, and the health status. And the influencing factors of urinary mercury were evaluated. Results: Among 1353 workers exposed to mercury, there were 1002 males (74.1%), the average age was (37.2±9.8) years old, and the length of service was 3.1 (2.0, 8.0) years. The abnormal rates of physical examination, blood pressure, electrocardiogram, blood routine, liver function, urinary β2-microglobulin and urinary mercury were 73.9% (1000/1353), 12.3% (166/1353), 30.2% (408/1353), 59.9% (810/1353), 32.5% (440/1353), 15.2% (205/1353) and 2.2% (30/1353), respectively. The abnormal rates of blood pressure, blood routine, liver function, urinary β2-microglobulin and urinary mercury in male workers were higher than those in female workers (P<0.05). The abnormal rates of workers' blood pressure and physical examination results increased with the increase of age and length of service, while the abnormal rate of electrocardiogram results were opposite (P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the abnormal rates of blood pressure, blood routine, urinary β2-microglobulin and physical examination results among workers of different enterprises and different industries (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the workers with age ≥30 years old, microminiature enterprises, abnormal physical examination results and urinary β2-microglobulin were the susceptible population with abnormal urinary mercury (P<0.05) . Conclusion: The occupational health status of mercury workers in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is not optimistic, and the health monitoring of microminiature enterprises and older workers should be improved to effectively protect the physical and mental health of workers.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Blood Pressure ; Health Status ; Mental Health ; Mercury ; Physical Examination ; Occupational Exposure