Article [11]

TOWARD FREEDOM FROM MERCURY TOXICITY 
Dr. David Schwartz

     Mercury is one of the most toxic elements on the planet, probably second only to plutonium, yet worldwide people have it in all tissues of their bodies, and it continues to be dumped into our waterways and soil, placed into our teeth, and injected into our bodies.

     The American College For the Advancement of Medicine sponsored a chelation workshop in May of 2000 about mercury and its removal from body tissues.

     Dr. Stephen B. Edelson, M.D. FAAFP, FAAEM, introduced the problem by giving an overview of the scope of long-term mercury poisoning.  Dr Edelson is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine.  He has treated hundreds of children with autism and has treated many adults with severe chronic diseases brought on by accumulated heavy metal toxicity.  He uses nutritional therapies and chelation at the Edelson Center for Environmental and Preventive Medicine in Atlanta, GA.

     Dr Edelson stated that mercury is a major cause of chronic disease now, which is a “tip of the iceberg,” and which will likely result in the “most deadly human health problem” in decades to come if steps are not taken to prevent this.

     He notes that the IPA has closed 50% of the U.S. waterways to fishing due to contamination with mercury, largely from agricultural run-off from mercurial fungicides on seeds.  He also notes the 2-fold increase in autism in the last 5 years, which is most likely in part due to mercury toxicity.

     According to Dr. Edelson, mercury is accumulative, persistent, and pervasive, not only in the environment but also in the human body.  Elimination from the body does not keep pace with repeated small exposures, and it enters all tissues of the body, including the brain

     This issue has not come to adequate public awareness because:

1.      Most research in the past was done regarding acute massive poisoning, not about the chronic low-level exposure, which is much more common.

2.      There is a long latency period between the development of toxicity and the symptoms it produces.

3.      The symptoms are so legion that they could be confused with those of almost any other chronic disease.

4.      There is no commonly acceptable way of sampling a person’s body burdern of mercury.

5.      Most of medicine does not understand free radical pathogenesis of disease.

     The following are a few of the many things that mercury does in the body, as noted by Dr. Edelson:

     Damages DNA and cell membranes.

     Depletes antioxidant systems.

     Inactivates enzymes of cellular function.

     Interferes with the liver’s detoxification systems.

     Loosens epithelial cell junctions, causing “leaky” gut and malabsorption

     Produces massive amounts of free radicals.

     Overwhelms glutathione stores needed for general detoxification.

     Oxidizes LDL cholesterol, making it more damaging to arteries.

     Produces cross-linkages in protein (associated with premature aging).

     Disrupts nerve cell membrane electrical potential, interfering with neuron function.

     Increases intracellular calcium, which in too high a concentration, is a poison.

     Disrupts tubulin production in brain cells.  (Identical process is present in Alzheimer’s Disease).

     Triggers autoimmunity by altering TH-1/TH2 ratio in immune cells.

     Mercury has been widely used in industry and in many household and medical products.  People absorb mercury from air and drinking water, from fish more than other foods, and from mercury vapor given off by “silver” fillings in teeth.  Also thimerosal, a form of mercury much more toxic than elemental mercury itself, is used in most vaccines.

     In 1830 mercury amalgam for fillings in teeth was known to be a problem even then.

     In 1898 the diagnosis was made of mercurial neurosis from mercury dental amalgams, and the use of these amalgams in dentistry has been controversial ever since then, with the American Dental Association to this very day still claiming that mercury in teeth is not a problem.  There was not much science to settle the controversy until in the 1970’s the technologies became available to verify the massive problems that arise from mercury fillings.  Then in the 1980’s, symptoms began to be reported from these amalgams.  In 1990 mercury was finally outlawed in latex paints, and at present, evidence is incontrovertible that mercury in teeth is a severe health problem.

     Dr. Edelson describes further the pervasive problems from mercury.  He cites the World Health Organization  reporting that the amount of mercury absorbed daily by the average human body is 0.3 micrograms (mcg) from water and air, 2.61 mcg from fish, and 17 mcg from dental amalgams.  He points out that mercury vapor is 80% absorbed into the blood, and that in animal studies, mercury vapor goes directly from the nose to the brain, following nasal nerve pathways.  Amalgams release mercury for as long as 70 years.  Someone with 8 amalgams could release 120 mcg into the saliva per day.  The maximum allowable by the EPA is less than 0.1 mcg per kilogram of body weight per day, to be absorbed into the human body.  He points out that dentists have 4 times as much of a body burden of mercury as an average non-dentist.  Dental workers show 50-300% more mercury in hair and fingernails than the average population.  He quotes a German study that showed that multiple sclerosis patients got an 85%recovery rate after extracting all their teeth.

      Dr. Boyd Haley, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky, spoke about the research he had done with mercury.  He discovered a close relationship between the cellular pathology of Alzheimer’s Disease  and that of mercury poisoning.

     Tubulin is a substance in brain cells vital to neuronal (brain cell) function.  It is inactivated by mercury.  He published this work in the journal Neurotoxicology and in Metal Ions and Biological Chemistry, Chapter 34.  The Alzheimer’s brain also has inactivated tubulin.  This research was published in Annals of Neurology.  He put amalgams from teeth into distilled water, then withdrew 50 micro liters of the water and introduced it into brain tissue culture.  Tubulin photolabelling was abolished within one hour. (Elective Brain Research)  Creatine kinase, which is totally inhibited in the Alzheimer’s Brain, was also totally inhibited within one hour after adding the water to the brain tissue.  (Journal of Neural Transmission, 1998).  Dr. Haley also notes that mercury can cause the formation of beta-amyloid protein, tau protein, and neurofibrillary tangles, prominent histological features of Alzheimer's Disease.  Blood levels of mercury are 3 times higher in Alzheimer’s Patients than in controls.

     Dr. Haley also notes that in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, athletes who dropped dead had 22,000 times more mercury in myocardial tissue than in control heart tissue.  The panel members at the seminar also noted that hearts with coronary disease have much higher levels of mercury in the tissue than in normal heart tissue.

     Also speaking at the seminar, Dr. Karen Shrimplin, Ed.D, and Dr. Robert Kulacz, D.D.S., discussed their experience working in dental offices and the procedures used by mercury-free dentists and those used by dentists who place mercury amalgams into teeth.

     They note that within 5 years of placing a mercury amalgam into a tooth, 25% of the mercury has disappeared.  Dental workers who use mercury are constantly being exposed to mercury vapors, not unlike hat makers’ exposure hundreds of years ago, albeit to a lesser extent.  They note that the rate of glioblastoma, a highly malignant brain tumor, occurs in dentists at twice the rate of the general population.

     The EPA requires that excess amalgam pieces that are discarded be disposed of under water and sent to a hazardous material disposal company.  (However, to my knowledge, it appears that many dentists still allow it to go into the municipal sewer system).

     Drs. Shrimplin and Kulacz point out that dentists are not allowed by the American Dental Association to tell their patients that mercury is toxic.  Dentists may replace mercury amalgams with other materials for cosmetic purposes only, but not for the purpose of removing a dangerous substance.  Dentists who do speak to their patients about the toxicity of mercury are at risk for having their licenses revoked.  Dr. Paula Bickle, Ph.D., who also spoke at the seminar, mentioned that in California, the situation is reversed, that dentists are required to inform the patients of the risks of mercury, and patients are required to sign an informed consent form before mercury fillings can be used.  Also a biohazard sign must be visible in the dentist’s office.

     Drs Shrimplin and Kulacz recommend that if people want to have the amalgams removed, to only have it done by a mercury-free dentist, so that it is done properly, otherwise the patient can be harmed by being exposed excessively to mercury by the removal process itself, by breathing the vapors released by the drilling and by swallowing bits of mercury.  There are many dentists who will replace the amalgams if requested, but will not use the proper methods.  The speakers warn that if you go to have amalgams removed by a dentist who also places amalgams into teeth, you know that dentist is not going to take the best precautions to protect you during the process.  If the dentist had that degree of concern for safety regarding mercury that you could trust it, he or she could not continue to place amalgam fillings into people’s teeth and be consistent with that safety consciousness.

     Proper amalgam removal involves counseling the patient beforehand for nutritional support both before and after the procedure.  It entails using a rubber dam, proper irrigation and suction, gas masks for the dental personnel, and, when feasible, an alternate air source for the patient to breathe.  It also includes careful disposal of the amalgam material to a hazardous waste facility.

     There is a registry of mercury-free dentists available at Dr. Haley’s website at www. altcorp.com/hgfreedentists.htm.  The website www.altcorp.com has other articles about research and other information about mercury.  There is also a worldwide registry of mercury-free dentists at www.talkinternational.com.   The classic book to read regarding amalgams is It’s All In Your Head, by Hal Huggins, D.D.S, who had his dental license revoked after writing the book and speaking out in public about the dangers of mercury in teeth.

     Also speaking at the seminar was Dr. Paula Bickle, with a Ph.D from Columbia University in nutritional biochemistry, who did extensive research on chelating mercury to remove much of the body burden of mercury.

     Drs. Bickle and Haley also discussed the use of thimerosal in children’s vaccines.  It has been used for a preservative in most vaccines for decades, but now with children getting a much larger number of vaccinations now than previously, the amount of mercury children receive far exceeds the EPA’s maximum allowable daily absorption mentioned previously.  Further Dr. Haley states that thimerosal is a form of mercury much more toxic than elemental mercury, for which the EPA’s guidelines were made.  It is well known that methyl mercury is much more toxic than elemental mercury, but the diethyl  mercury in the thimerosal has not even been studied well enough to even know how dangerous it is, but from what we do know, it is likely that it is many times more toxic than methyl mercury.

     Dr. Bickle reported that the FDA mandated in August of 1999 that all manufacturers remove all thimerosal from all vaccines within 2 years.  There now are thimerosal-free vaccines available, but so far most suppliers are using up the old vaccines before making available the new ones.   If people want to have the new mercury-free vaccines, they may need to make a special request.  It is my understanding that as of the date of this article, July, 2001, there are no thimerosal-containing vaccines currently being manufactured.

     It is vitally important that we all be aware of the mercury as well as the other toxic chemicals in our environment and that we do our best to avoid exposure as well as keep our bodies supported with good nutrition and enhance our bodies’ ability to detoxify substances.  I refer to the previous articles on detoxification.   The issue of mercury’s hazards in our environment, especially from fish and from dental amalgams is no longer scientifically controversial.  Any controversy would have to have its roots in the economic, legal, and political arenas.