Child with elemental mercury poisoning and unusual brain MRI findings

Abbaslou P <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Abbaslou%20P%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=16496500> , Zaman T <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Zaman%20T%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=16496500> .

Pediatrics Department, Children Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. parvin_abbaslou@yahoo.co.uk

Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2006;44(1):85-8.

Abstract

Mercury vapor poisoning is a serious and potentially fatal problem. Neurological manifestations involving the central nervous system are seen with chronic mercury intoxication. We present the case of a 10-year-old child who demonstrated acrodynia, seizures, and visual impairment following 20 days of exposure to elemental mercury at home. The initial blood mercury concentration was 27.7 microg/L (normal <2 microg/L) and the initial 24-hour urine mercury concentration was 34.4 microg/L (normal =10 microg/L). After 9 months of treatment with D-penicillamine, the patient's clinical condition, biochemical laboratory parameters, and mercury concentrations all returned to normal. The T2-weighted MRI images of the patient's brain initially showed multiple hyperintense lesions in cerebral white matter, left globus pallidus, and putamen, which also improved.

     PMID: 16496500 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]