Medicine
Volume 35, Issue 12 , Page 632, December 2007

Mercury

Sally Bradberry BSc MRCP is Assistant Director of the National Poisons Information Service (Birmingham Unit) and West Midlands Poisons Unit at City Hospital, Birmingham, UK. Competing interests: none declared

Abstract 

Mercury exists in three oxidation states, elemental, mercuric and mercurous and can form both organic and inorganic compounds. The central nervous system is the most susceptible target organ, though mercury is also a potent renal toxin. Chelation therapy with DMPS can enhance mercury elimination and there are case reports demonstrating that chelation therapy can reverse mercury-induced neurological damage.

Keywords: dimercaptopropane-1-sulfonate, DMPS, elemental, mercuric, mercurous, vapour

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PII: S1357-3039(07)00330-1

doi:10.1016/j.mpmed.2007.09.021

Medicine
Volume 35, Issue 12 , Page 632, December 2007

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