Methylmercury and Neurotoxicity [Paperback]

Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant that knows no environmental boundaries. Even the most stringent control of anthropogenic Hg sources will not eliminate exposure given its ubiquitous presence. Exposure to Hg occurs primarily via the food chain due to MeHgs accumulation in fish. Latest US statistics indicate that 46 States have fish consumption advisories. In addition, Hg is a common pollutant in hazardous waste sites, with an estimated 3-4 million children living within one mile of at least one of the 1,300+ active hazardous waste sites in the US. The effects on intellectual function in children prenatally exposed to MeHg via maternal fish consumption have been the subject of two on-going major, prospective, longitudinal studies in the Seychelles and the Faroe Islands. It is important to recognize that the risk for MeHg exposure is not limited only to islanders with high fish consumption.

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This book?will provide state-of-the-art information to the graduate student training in toxicology, risk assessors, researchers and medical providers at large. It is aimed to bring the reader up to date on contemporary issues associated with exposure to methylmercury, from its effects on stem cells and neurons to population studies.

Spanning disciplines, this book assesses mercury pollution in the environment as well as the health consequences associated with exposure, including epidemiological data, neurodevelopmental toxicity, behavioral alterations, epigenitic changes and more.Epidemiological Update on Methylmercury and Minamata Disease.- Epidemiological Evidence On Methylmercury Neurotoxicity.- The Impact of Prenatal Exposure to Methylmercury and Maternal Nutritional Status on Child Development: Findings from the Seychelles Child Development Study.- Methylmercury and Fish Nutrients in Experimental Models.- Mercury-Dependent Inhibition of Selenoenzymes and Mercury Toxicity.- Redox State in Mediating Mel'