IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE
NEW
RESEARCH CONNNECTS MERCURY TO ALZHEIMERS DISEASE!
Scientists have shown that trace amounts of mercury can cause the
type of damage
to nerves that is characteristic of the damage found in Alzheimers
disease. The level
of mercury exposure used in the test was well below those levels
found in many
humans with mercury/silver amalgam dental fillings. The research
conducted at the
University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine fond that exposure to
mercury caused the
formation of neurofibrillar tangles, which are one of
the two diagnostic markers
for Alzheimers disease. Previous research has shown that
mercury can cause the
formation of the other Alzheimers disease marker, amyloid
plaques. The
scientists also exposed the test nerves to other elements,
including aluminum, but
found that only mercury caused the damage consistent with Alzheimers disease.
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The research, published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, is accompanied by a video visual presentation of the effect. Utilizing digital time-lapse photography, this video shows rapid damage to the nerve cells after introduction of minute amounts of mercury. Funding for this video was provided by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT).
This video will be available to media contacts (only) through:
Miss Karen Thomas, Media Relations, University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine, 403-220-2945, 403-210-8141 Fax, thomask@ucalgary.ca
Media Embargo Date: 26 March 2001
Title: Retrograde Degeneration of Neurite Membrane Structural Integrity of Nerve Growth Cones Following In Vitro Exposure to Mercury
Authors: Leong, CW; Syed, NI; Lorscheider, FL
Journal: NeuroReport, 12(4):733-737,2001
Murlene Brake