title: Mercury exposure and Alzheimer's disease in India - An imminent threat?
abstract: India is an industrial giant with one of the fastest growing major economies in the world. Primary energy consumption in India is third after China and the USA. Greater energy production brings the burden of increasing emissions of mercury (Hg). India ranks second for Hg emissions. Rising atmospheric Hg release, high Hg evasion processes, and increasing monomethylmercury (highly neurotoxin) accumulations in marine food products increase the potential for human and ecosystem Hg exposure. Hg has been identified to increase the risk of getting Alzheimer's disease (AD). There are increasing reports of AD and dementia in different age groups in India. The relationship between increasing Hg exposure and increasing neurodegenerative disorder in India is not known. This commentary points to the need for better understanding of the relationship between Hg release and AD in India, and other countries, and how to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of Hg.
authors.affiliation: Geological Oceanography Division, CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403004, India. Electronic address: pchak@nio.org.
authors.forename: Parthasarathi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chakraborty
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008628:Mercury / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Mercury emission; Mercury exposure; Mercury release