Methylmercury and Neurotoxicity
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 MeH
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Sandra Ceccatelli
●
Michael Aschner
Editors
Methylmercury and Neurotoxicity
Editors Sandra Ceccatelli, MD, PhD Department of Neuroscience Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, Sweden
Michael Aschner, PhD Departments of Pediatrics Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN, USA
ISBN 978-1-4614-2382-9 e-ISBN 978-1-4614-2383-6 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-2383-6 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2012932630 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface
This book intends to facilitate among its readers the understanding of the importance of mercury pollution in the environment and the health consequences associated with exposure to this metal. The knowledge on methylmercury (MeHg) toxicity collected over the years is undoubtedly robust creating an impression all that is to be learnt about this metal has already been accomplished. However, in large measure, past knowledge has merely laid the ground for interesting questions that have yet to be fully addressed and concepts have yet to be deciphered. One of our major goals was to make a valiant attempt to include state-of-the-art information on the mechanisms of mercury toxicity, describing its effects on cultured cellular systems as well as in whole living organisms, starting from the lessons learned from the tragic events in Minamata Bay, Japan. A special focus of the book is on the neurotoxic effects of MeHg. The nervous system is a unique organ that can be visualized as an assemblage of interrelated neural systems that regulate their activity in a dynamic and complex manner. An understanding at the cellular level is necessary to gather information on the structural and functional alterations induced by MeHg and how they possibly become unmasked and evident at the behavioral level. We organized the sequence of the 20 chapters having these considerations in mind. In Chaps. 1–3 timely epidemiological data are presented opening with an update on Minamata disease. Chapters 4–7 address the mechanisms of MeHg toxicity, with special emphasis on potential protective mechanisms, oxidative stress, and thyroid hormone impairments. Chapters 8 and 9 prov
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