Nature - Mercury In Seafood Affects Brains Of Adolescents

[hatrack]

"Eating seafood that contains mercury can affect the brain development of children in their adolescence, according to a study of people in the Faroe Islands. The study fuels an ongoing debate about the health effects of a form of mercury called methylmercury, which accumulates in large marine animals such as swordfish and whales.

Some researchers think these compounds are toxic only to babies as they develop in the womb, and that older children are unlikely to suffer developmental problems from the poison. But a study of the health of children on the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, where inhabitants eat lots of seafood and whale meat and so are exposed to relatively high levels of mercury, indicates something different.

The group previously found that the children, when 7 years of age, had a slower transmission of electrical signals along a particular circuit in their brain than normal. Now that the children are 14 years old, after a continued diet of fish and whale meat, the researchers find that this disruption is even worse1. They also found evidence that mercury exposure is linked to subtle difficulties in controlling blood pressure2.

The findings suggest that any harm done by mercury before birth or in early childhood was not repaired as the children grew up. And continued mercury exposure may continue to affect the brains of teenagers, says team leader Philippe Grandjean of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts."

EDIT

http://www.nature.com/nsu/040202/040202-16.html

[donsu]

1. add all the other toxins in air and water and it's no wonder our

Special Education classes are bigger and bigger each year.

(for you young folk: there didn't used to be Special Classes because there was little demand for one. this is a GROWING crisis)

[NNadir]

2. And how does that mercury get there?

http://www.mercurypolicy.org/emissions/documents/hgsources.pdf">Read the first header. No one ever protests to shut these plants down. How come?

[NNadir]

3. Screwed up the link above. Let's try again.

Read the first header. No one ever protests to shut these plants down. How come?

[kimchi]

4. Let's see: no seafood, no mad cow hamburger, no avian flu chicken...

What the hell are we supposed to feed the children? That country farm we can't afford looks better and better each day.

on edit: poetic license with the chicken

[SoCalDem]

5. Toxic is toxic.. no matter what the age of the ingestor..n/t

:(

[enki23]

6. but age can definitely be a factor in how it affects you

lead, for example, has a negligable effect on the central nervous system of older children and adults, because it can't efficiently cross the blood brain barrier. because of this, it's primarily a peripheral nervous system toxin for most of us. still bad, but different. in young children, whose so-called blood brain barrier isn't fully developed, far more of it can get into the CNS. lead's bad news for everyone, yes, but worse for kids. also, though i'm not expert on heavy metals poisoning, these things may well have different effects on developing nervous systems. lead's just one example off the top of my head, but i'm sure there are others.

anyway... point is that age is *definitely* a factor to consider when trying to judge, or study toxic effects.

[baby_bear]

7. You are exactly right, SoCalDem

The literature tells the story...mercury is as toxic to adults as it is to fetuses/children. It sells better as a child toxin, so that's why we hear that almost exclusively. But it's very deceptive. Adults should be wary of eating mercury-laden fish such as tuna. Neurological disorders are not pleasant at any age.

The Bush administration, if not checked, will roll back the controls on mercury emissions to an incredible degree. Right now our only hope is the courts, but if the people, i.e., the electorate, would become aware of this (hello, press?), GWBush would be run out of town on a rail for this reason alone.

*sigh*

I do keep trying.

s_m

[gate of the sun]

8. When my son was a newborn and breastfeeding

everytime I ate salmon he would scream and cry for hours....I quit eating it once I made the connection....now I know why... the mercury did it....it's upsetting me know that I know why.