Mercury-Induced Chronic Kidney Disease

Mercury is a toxic metal as we well know from several recent environmental disasters, like Minamata in Japan[1]. We know from past experience that working with mercury or compounds containing mercury, such as methylmercury (ethylmercury is quite harmless) or cinnabar (mercury sulfide, once used as a pigment), will lead to health problems. Symptoms do depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashes, anxiety, memory problems, trouble speaking, trouble hearing, or trouble seeing. It will also create mental problems, as is shown in the Mad Hatter Syndrome.

But mercury poisoning will also have nefarious effects on your kidneys[2]. It accumulates readily in the renal tubular cells. To some extent, these tubular cells are able to regenerate, but prolonged exposure will surely lead to chronic kidney disease. Children's kidneys are particulary vulnerable to mercury poisoning[3].

Organic forms of mercury, which primarily affect the central nervous system, may also have serious toxicological effects in the kidneys.

Remember, you can inwittingly ingest mercury by consuming contaminated seafood, such as tuna. A study found that people, living in coastal regions of south-eastern Asia, the western Pacific and the Mediterranean, average biomarkers that approach the FAO/WHO references[4]. The Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake (PTDI) for inorganic mercury is set at 4 μg/kg body weight.

We would like to suggest to call this particular variant: Mercury-Induced Chronic Kidney Disease.

[1] Harada: Minamata disease: methylmercury poisoning in Japan caused by environmental pollution in Critical Reviews in Toxicology - 1995
[2] Orr, Bridges: Chronic Kidney Disease and Exposure to Nephrotoxic Metals in International Journal of Molecular Sciences – 2017. See here.
[3] Bose-O’Reilly, et al: Mercury Exposure and Children’s Health in Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care – 2011. See here.
[4] Sheehan et al: Global methylmercury exposure from seafood consumption and risk of developmental neurotoxicity: a systematic review in Bulletin of the World Heath Organisation - 2014. See here.