Methylmercury occurs as a contaminant of seafood and freshwater fish worldwide. Tragic pollution episodes have demonstrated that the fetal brain is particularly susceptible to methylmercury toxicity;the adverse effects on the nervous system appear to be irreversible and are much more widespread and serious in children than in adults, especially when exposures have occurred prenatally. This application builds upon the extensive data already collected on a cohort of 1,022 children born in 1986-1987. Detailed information was collected at the time of birth and during the course of follow-up at ages 7 and 14 years. Our previous research efforts have emphasized impacts during childhood and adolescence caused by developmental exposures to methylmercury as a possible paradigm for developmental neurotoxicant effects. The intention is now to complete the follow-up by examining the cohort members as young adults to determine the possible persistence of mercury-associated deficits in neuropsychological and cardiovascular functions, and the impact on educational achievements and overall health.
The specific aims of this project are therefore to determine if methylmercury-associated cognitive deficits affect educational achievements, including high- school diploma and college (bachelor) studies;to examine cohort members at age 21 years to determine cardiovascular functions that may be affected by methylmercury exposure;to carry out analysis for PCBs in banked umbilical cord blood from cohort members, and to determine selenium intake from analysis of blood samples;and to assess genotypes for relevant genes that may affect methylmercury toxicokinetics or defense mechanisms against peroxidation processes that may be initiated by methylmercury exposure.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01ES009797-10
Application #
7901145
Study Section
Neurological, Aging and Musculoskeletal Epidemiology (NAME)
Program Officer
Kirshner, Annette G
Project Start
2007-09-15
Project End
2012-05-31
Budget Start
2010-06-01
Budget End
2011-05-31
Support Year
10
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$355,147
Indirect Cost
Name
Harvard University
Department
Public Health & Prev Medicine
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
149617367
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02115
Leung, Yuet-Kin; Ouyang, Bin; Niu, Liang et al. (2018) Identification of sex-specific DNA methylation changes driven by specific chemicals in cord blood in a Faroese birth cohort. Epigenetics 13:290-300
Oulhote, Youssef; Debes, Frodi; Vestergaard, Sonja et al. (2017) Aerobic Fitness and Neurocognitive Function Scores in Young Faroese Adults and Potential Modification by Prenatal Methylmercury Exposure. Environ Health Perspect 125:677-683
Timmermann, Clara Amalie Gade; Choi, Anna L; Petersen, Maria Skaalum et al. (2017) Secondary sex ratio in relation to exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls, dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene and methylmercury. Int J Circumpolar Health 76:1406234
Grandjean, Philippe (2016) Paracelsus Revisited: The Dose Concept in a Complex World. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol 119:126-32
Oulhote, Youssef; Steuerwald, Ulrike; Debes, Frodi et al. (2016) Behavioral difficulties in 7-year old children in relation to developmental exposure to perfluorinated alkyl substances. Environ Int 97:237-245
Debes, Frodi; Weihe, Pal; Grandjean, Philippe (2016) Cognitive deficits at age 22 years associated with prenatal exposure to methylmercury. Cortex 74:358-69
Grandjean, Philippe; Herz, Katherine T (2015) Trace elements as paradigms of developmental neurotoxicants: Lead, methylmercury and arsenic. J Trace Elem Med Biol 31:130-4
Kim, Byung-Mi; Choi, Anna L; Ha, Eun-Hee et al. (2014) Effect of hemoglobin adjustment on the precision of mercury concentrations in maternal and cord blood. Environ Res 132:407-12
Grandjean, Philippe; Weihe, Pal; Debes, Frodi et al. (2014) Neurotoxicity from prenatal and postnatal exposure to methylmercury. Neurotoxicol Teratol 43:39-44
Grandjean, Philippe; Landrigan, Philip J (2014) Neurobehavioural effects of developmental toxicity. Lancet Neurol 13:330-8

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