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Keratinous biomarker of mercury exposure associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis risk in a nationwide U.S. study
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2020
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Alternative Title:figshare Academic Research System
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Journal Article:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration
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Corporate Authors:Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ; Biostatistics Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ; Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH ; Division of Toxicology and Human Health Sciences, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ; ... More +
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Description:Objective: The majority of cases of the fatal neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are of unknown etiology. A proportion of these cases are likely to be attributable to contaminant exposures, although the specific environmental etiology of ALS remains largely a mystery. Certain forms of the neurotoxic metal mercury readily cross into the central nervous system. Fish is a dietary source of methylmercury, but also of beneficial components, such as omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Prior work using clinic-based studies of toenails and hair as keratinous biomarkers of exposure suggest elevated mercury levels in ALS patients compared with controls. We sought to validate this relationship in a U.S. case-control comparison of mercury levels in nail clippings. Methods: We performed trace element analysis using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) on the nail clippings of n = 70 female, geographically representative ALS patients from the National ALS Biorepository and compared them to n = 210 age-matched controls from a set of n = 1216 nationally distributed controls from the Sister and Two Sister Studies. Results: Compared to the lowest quartile of nail mercury, moderate levels were associated with decreased risk of ALS (P = 4.18e–6). However, the odds of having nail mercury levels above the 90th percentile were 2.3-fold higher among ALS patients compared with controls (odds ratio (OR) = 2.3, 95% confidence interval 1.10–4.58, adjusted for age and smoking status). Conclusion: This finding suggests that excessive mercury exposure may be associated with the neurodegenerative health of aging populations.
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Content Notes:Stacks:93504
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Modified:04/01/2021
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Date Issued:01/01/2020
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