A Child with elemental mercury poisoning and unusual brain MRI findings.
Mercury vapor poisoning is a serious and potentially fatal problem. Neurological manifestations involving the central nervous system are seen with chronic mercury intoxication. We present the case of a 10-year-old child who demonstrated acrodynia, seizures, and visual impairment following 20 days of exposure to elemental mercury at home. The initial blood mercury concentration was 27.7 microg/L (normal <2 microg/L) and the initial 24-hour urine mercury concentration was 34.4 microg/L (normal =10 microg/L). After 9 months of treatment with D-penicillamine, the patient's clinical condition, biochemical laboratory parameters, and mercury concentrations all returned to normal. The T2-weighted MRI images of the patient's brain initially showed multiple hyperintense lesions in cerebral white matter, left globus pallidus, and putamen, which also improved.
Pediatrics Department, Children Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. parvin_abbaslou@yahoo.co.uk
Parvin
P
Abbaslou
Talieh
T
Zaman
D000170:Acrodynia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D000931:Antidotes / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D002614:Chelating Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008630:Mercury Poisoning / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D010396:Penicillamine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012640:Seizures / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology
D000931:Antidotes; D002614:Chelating Agents; D010396:Penicillamine