Korean J Fam Med.  2009 Sep;30(9):717-722. 10.4082/kjfm.2009.30.9.717.

The Effect of Vitamin C for Mercury Excretion by Hair Mercury Analysis

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Family Medicine, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea. fmcjs@naver.com
  • 2Centum Family Clinic, Busan, Korea.

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Humans are exposed to mercury via many different routes and in different forms. Studies concerned with the exposure in the general population were done many times in the past. But, the treatment of mercury exposure and mercury intoxication is limited. Therefore, chelators such as birth anti lewistite, 2,3-dimercaptopropanol (BAL), dimercaptopropane-1-sulphonate (DMPS), and dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) were given to patients with acute symptoms resulting from the central nervous system due to confirmed mercury poisoning. In this paper, we reported the effects of oral Vitamin C on mercury excretion. METHODS: This study has been reviewed in the clinical findings of 213 patients aged 30-80 who visited Kosin University Gospel Hospital during 3 months from March to September 2007. We measured hair mercury levels at the initial visit and at 3-4 months after the oral vitamin C (4 g/day) treatment. RESULTS: The number of patients who had initial hair mercury level over 1.5 ppm were 57 patients among 213 patients, and 41 patients rechecked the hair mercury level. Twenty patients who had hair mercury level over 1.5 ppm were treated with oral vitamin C for 3 months and rechecked the hair mercury level and 21 patients without vitamin C treatment. The vitamin treatment group had a hair mercury level that was three times lower than the non-treated group. CONCLUSION: The vitamin C oral treatment significantly decreased the level of hair mercury.

Keyword

Mercury; Vitamin C; Hair Analysis

MeSH Terms

Aged
Ascorbic Acid
Central Nervous System
Chelating Agents
Dimercaprol
Hair
Humans
Mercury Poisoning
Parturition
Succimer
Vitamins
Ascorbic Acid
Chelating Agents
Dimercaprol
Succimer
Vitamins
Full Text Links
  • KJFM
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr