- Article By ROBERT WALKER
- CALGARY HERALD
-
- Dead
Brain Cells Linked To Mercury
- U
of C researchers say video evidence is clear
New
research vividly demonstrating the damage mercury has on brain cells --
in concentrations seen in people with amalgam fillings -- was published
by University of Calgary medical school researchers Monday.
Drs.
Fritz Lorscheider and Naweed Syed's research, published in the British
journal, NeuroReport, is supported by a time-lapse video showing graphically
how brain cells die within 10 minutes when they are exposed to mercury
in minute concentrations.
"We
believe we have very clearly shown for the first time anywhere how or
why mercury is a neuro-toxin ... this is the visual evidence that
mercury from whatever source causes neuro degeneration,"
Lorscheider said.
"This
kind of evidence gives a lot more credence as to why we should be
concerned about mercury exposure in the environment. This is visual
evidence," he added.
The
damaged neurons look similar to those of people with Alzheimers disease.
Lorscheider said, although the search does not yet claim that mercury
fillings cause the degenerative disease, "How this applies to any
neurordegenerative disease, time will tell", he said. But he
did say "mercury is a precipitating factor in pre-disposing people
to Alzheimer's disease."
Other
researchers have found high concentrations of mercury in the brains of
people with Alzheims Lorscheider told a news conference.
The
research represents another step in Lorscheider's 20-year effort to show
the connection between amalgam fillings and brain and other organ
damage. That research began in the early 1980s when he showed for the
first time that mercury from fillings is released when patients chew.
His
later research showed mercury then showed up in other organs, including
the brain.
The
latest research was conducted on brain cells of snails cultured in a
test tube which are identical in key respects to those of humans,
Lorscheider said Dr. Brian Kucey, president of the Alberta Dental
Association, said he is not pro or anti amalgam. "It is a useful
material handled in the right way. It is not a danger to the
public," he said.
But
he said dental associations need more time to study the latest research
"My interest is piqued. I certainly don't want to have Alzheimer's,
and as a dentist I'm exposed to it more than anybody else. But I
wouldn't panic at this point," he added.
A
position paper on amalgam fillings from the Canadian Dental Association
carried on the Alberta Dental Association Web site currently states:
"The risks associated with the use of dental amalgam appear to be
limited and the benefits to patients are known to be large."
Given
the connection Lorscheider and other researchers have shown between
mercury fillings and possible brain and other organ damage, Lorscheider
said he was baffled why dentists still use fillings made from
50-per-cent mercury, 35-per-cent silver and I5-per-cent other metals.
He
said he believes they continue to use them because it's far quicker and
cheaper than other materials.
"There
is a huge dental public relations lobby that is very much opposed to
this line of enquiry. But this has nothing to do with its scientific
merit, but rather the economic vested interest of dentistry:"
Lorscheider told reporters.
In
fact, U.S. research shows a mental deficit in dentists themselves who
work with mercury fillings, even those doing as few as 50 amalgam
fillings a week Lorscheider said
People
exposed to toxic quantities of mercury suffer tremors, loss of manual
dexterity and loss of memory.
*Source:
Calgary Herald March 2001
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