Mercury accumulations in brains from populations exposed to high and low dietary levels of methyl mercury. Concentration, chemical form and distribution of mercury in brain samples from autopsies.

ABSTRACT

Autopsy samples from 17 Greenlanders and 12 Danes were analysed for total and organic mercury by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and for cellular localisation by autometallography. The concentration of total mercury in the Greenlanders (median 174 micrograms Hg/kg wet weight brain tissue, range 59-4782, highest in cerebellum 492) was found to be significantly higher than in the Danish group (3.7 micrograms Hg/kg w.w., range 1.2-11.8). Furthermore, the total concentration of mercury was positively correlated to age (rho = 0.56, p < 0.05), and the fraction of methyl mercury was negatively correlated to age (rho = -0.66, p < 0.01) among the Greenlanders. This suggests an age dependent accumulation of total mercury and a slow transformation of methyl mercury to inorganic mercury in the brain. The autometallographically demonstrable mercury was primarily located in glia cells.