Cheleation therapy and autism--is it worth the trouble?

Darkfrog submitted, created time 5 months 3 weeks (www.nature.com)

Cheleation therapy involves injecting the patient with dimercaptosuccinic acid or some other agent that can bind to metal ions. The bound ions are then eliminated by the body. Cheleation therapy is used, successfully, in heavy metal poisoning. Now people are pushing for its use with autistic children.

For years, the idea that vaccines cause autism has taken center stage. The rationale is that the mercury used as a preservative (or more specifically, that USED to be used as a preservative) was poisoning the children and interrupting their brain development

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: autism vaccines vaccines and autism causes of autism cheleation cheleation therapy children pediatrics mercury clinical studies politics

Microbes clean up mercury

kavin submitted, created time 7 months 5 days (www.sciencenews.org)

The neurotoxic effects of headgear laced with mercury had been recognized anecdotally for years. In the research, Cupriavidus metallidurans, a microbe that flourishes on metal and is not dangerous to humans has been found. It has a set of proteins that turns mercury into a form that evaporates into the air.

4 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: microbes ecology pollution Cupriavidus metallidurans mercury

Infant study casts doubt on vaccine-autism link

Sue Wu submitted, created time 11 months 1 week (www.reuters.com)

The mercury in a vaccine preservative is pumped out of a baby's body too quickly for it to do any damage, researchers reported on Wednesday in a study they say should further absolve shots of causing autism.

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: autism asperger's vaccines vaccine-autism link gene study poisons toxins mercury infants

Healthy to Eat Fish During Pregnancy?

snoopy submitted, created time 1 year 3 months (www.foxnews.com)

For years, pregnant and nursing women have been warned to limit the amount of fish they eat, because many marine species may contain high levels of mercury, which endangers newborns and fetuses.
However, reports from Reuters shows that fish and seafood can be beneficial to infant brain development during pregnancy, despite fears of mercury and its effect on an infant’s nervous system.
Fish and seafood include omega-3 fatty acids, known to aid brain development of an infant, a benefit that outweighs the concern of mercury contamination

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: fish pregnant women mercury

International team shows mercury concentrations in fish respond quickly to increased deposition

james submitted, created time 1 year 3 months (www.eurekalert.org)

A joint Canadian-American research team have, for the first time, demonstrated that mercury concentrations in fish respond directly to changes in atmospheric deposition of the chemical. The international team's research began in 2001 at the Experimental Lakes in Northern Ontario and is featured in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: mercury fish atmospheric deposition

Mercury's Link To Heart Disease Begins In Blood Vessel Walls

collapsar submitted, created time 1 year 7 months (www.sciencedaily.com)

Heavy metals and other toxins have been linked to many human diseases, but determining exactly how they damage the body remains a mystery in many cases. New research focusing on a relatively obscure, misunderstood protein suggests mercury’s link to heart disease can be traced to activation of this enzyme, which triggers a process leading to plaque buildup in blood vessel walls.

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: Blood Vessel Walls Mercury Heart Disease

Gold Nanoparticles Help Detect A Toxic Metal -- Mercury

cappuccion submitted, created time 1 year 8 months (www.medicalnewstoday.com)

With gold nanoparticles, DNA and some smart chemistry as their tools, scientists at Northwestern University have developed a simple "litmus test" for mercury that eventually could be used for on-the-spot environmental monitoring of bodies of water, such as rivers, streams, lakes and oceans, to evaluate their safety as food and drinking water sources. An article detailing the colorimetric screening technology and its success detecting mercury was published online by Angewandte Chemie, the prestigious European journal of applied chemistry.

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: Gold Nanoparticles mercury