ArticlePloS one2020
Elemental imaging shows mercury in cells of the human lateral and medial geniculate nuclei.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Elemental biomapping of human tissues suggests toxic metals such as mercury play a role in the pathogenesis of cancer.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Article
- Cell death in the lateral geniculate nucleus, and its possible relationship with nicotinic receptors and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).Molecular neurobiology · 2023Article
- The toxic metal hypothesis for neurological disorders.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
- Article
- Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Mediating Methylmercury Neurotoxicity and Neuroinflammation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveInterference with the transmission of sensory signals along visual and auditory pathways has been implicated in the pathogenesis of hallucinations. The relay centres for vision (the lateral geniculate nucleus) and hearing (the medial geniculate nucleus) appear to be susceptible to the uptake of circulating mercury. We therefore investigated the distribution of mercury in cells of both these geniculate nuclei. MATERIALS AND
methodsParaffin-embedded tissue sections containing the lateral geniculate nucleus were obtained from 50 adults (age range 20-104 years) who at autopsy had a variety of clinicopathological conditions, including neurological and psychiatric disorders. The medial geniculate nucleus was present in seven sections. Sections were stained for mercury using autometallography. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry was used to confirm the presence of mercury.
resultsTen people had mercury in cells of the lateral geniculate nucleus, and in the medial geniculate nucleus of three of these. Medical diagnoses in these individuals were: none (3), Parkinson disease (3), and one each of depression, bipolar disorder, multiple sclerosis, and mercury self-injection. Mercury was distributed in different groups of geniculate capillary endothelial cells, neurons, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes. Mass spectrometry confirmed the presence of mercury.
conclusionMercury is present in different combinations of cell types in the lateral and medial geniculate nuclei in a proportion of people from varied backgrounds. This raises the possibility that mercury-induced impairment of the function of the geniculate nuclei could play a part in the genesis of visual and auditory hallucinations. Although these findings do not provide a direct link between mercury in geniculate cells and hallucinations, they suggest that further investigations into the possibility of toxicant-induced hallucinations are warranted.
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