http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-02-08-mercury-usat_x.htm
Mercury damage ‘irreversible’
found that methyl mercury contamination of seafood can cause heart damage and
irreversible impairment to brain function…
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The researchers saw the same effects in the children when they were 7 and 14. “This indicates to us that if a brain is exposed to mercury during development in the mother’s womb, then the effect that we see during childhood is going to be a lasting effect,” he says. “We’re seeing that a brain that is affected during development will not recover, and I think this sort of puts the mercury question into perspective. If this was just a passing effect, it’s something entirely different. But here we’re talking about something that will stay with that child for a lifetime, and that will affect the child’s education, academic success, financial success and whole equality of life.”
These particular delays are associated with deficits in memory, language, attention, and motor speed, among other things, Grandjean says.
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From http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/phs46.html
Metallic mercury vapors or organic mercury may affect many different areas of the brain and their associated functions, resulting in a variety of symptoms. These include personality changes (irritability, shyness, nervousness), tremors, changes in vision (constriction (or narrowing) of the visual field), deafness, muscle incoordination, loss of sensation, and difficulties with memory.
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