Methylmercury is an important contaminant of seafood and freshwater fish worldwide. Although tragic pollution episodes have demonstrated that the fetal brain is particularly susceptible to methylmercury toxicity, the upper limit for safe mercury exposure is unknown. A birth cohort of 1,000 children was formed during 1986 to 87 at the Faroe Islands, where increase exposure to methylmercury is mainly due to consumption of pilot whale meat. The fishing community is unique and highly suitable for population-based studies or prenatal methylmercury neurotoxicity: Average mercury exposures vary more than a 100-fold within the population, and socioeconomic factors and other confounding variables are of only limited concern. Ninety percent of the children from the cohort went through extensive neurobehavioral examinations at age 7 years, and the results showed mild deficits associated with prenatal exposures that were previously thought to be safe. These data will be scrutinized further statistically and neuropsychologically. In addition, to determine the long-term implications and the potential reversibility of mercury-associated deficits, follow-up of the cohort at age 14 years will be carried out. Neurobehavioral performance will be related to several mercury exposure biomarkers that reflect both prenatal and postnatal exposures. Exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) will also be assessed and analyzed for their possible neurobehavioral effects. Advanced statistical methods will be applied to provide documentation that can be used directly in risk assessment.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Type
Research Project--Cooperative Agreements (U01)
Project #
3U01ES009797-01A1S1
Application #
6334817
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1 (01))
Program Officer
Kirshner, Annette G
Project Start
2000-05-01
Project End
2005-04-30
Budget Start
2000-05-01
Budget End
2001-04-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2000
Total Cost
$100,001
Indirect Cost
Name
Boston University
Department
Public Health & Prev Medicine
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
604483045
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02118
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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
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 (2016) Paracelsus Revisited: The Dose Concept in a Complex World. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol 119:126-32
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
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
Kvist, L; Giwercman, A; Weihe, P et al. (2014) Exposure to persistent organic pollutants and sperm sex chromosome ratio in men from the Faroe Islands. Environ Int 73:359-64
Julvez, Jordi; Smith, George Davey; Golding, Jean et al. (2013) Prenatal methylmercury exposure and genetic predisposition to cognitive deficit at age 8 years. Epidemiology 24:643-50
Yorifuji, Takashi; Murata, Katsuyuki; Bjerve, Kristian S et al. (2013) Visual evoked potentials in children prenatally exposed to methylmercury. Neurotoxicology 37:15-8

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