title: Dental amalgam and mercury levels in autopsy tissues: food for thought.
abstract: Eighteen cadavers from routine autopsy casework were subject to a study of tissue levels of total mercury in brain, thyroid, and kidney samples by atomic absorption. On these same cadavers, all dental amalgam fillings (the most important source of inorganic mercury exposure in the general population, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) were charted. Total mercury levels were significantly higher in subjects with a greater number of occlusal amalgam surfaces (>12) compared with those with fewer occlusal amalgams (0-3) in all types of tissue (all P < or = 0.04). Mercury levels were significantly higher in brain tissues compared with thyroid and kidney tissues in subjects with more than 12 occlusal amalgam fillings (all P < or = 0.01) but not in subjects with 3 or less occlusal amalgams (all P > or = 0.07).
authors.affiliation: Italian Association for Metals and Biocompatibility Research (AIRMEB), Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianpaolo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guzzi
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grandi
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Calza
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Minoia
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ronchi
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gatti
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Severi
mesh_terms: D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002102:Cadaver; D003723:Dental Amalgam / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D007672:Kidney Cortex / Q000737:chemistry; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000737:chemistry; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D013405:Suicide; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000737:chemistry; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D003723:Dental Amalgam; D008628:Mercury