From: Lorenzo Acerra 
Reply-To: Mercury Poisoning from Dental Amalgam 
To: AMALGAM@LISTSERV.GMD.DE
------------------

Dr.Lireka P. Joseph, Director of Health & Industry Programs, FDA
has been holding meetings in various parts of the country about
public health concerns.  Dr. Joseph would like to have scientific
items on dental amalgam toxicity sent to her at the following
address:
        Dr. Lirecka P. Joseph
        email: lpj@cdrh.fda.gov      

_________________________________

Summers AO, Wrieman J, Vimy MJ, Lorscheider FL, Martshall B, Levy SB,
Bennet S, Billard L,
"Mercury released from dental fillings provokes an increase in mercury and
antibiotic resistant bacteria in oral and intestinal floras of primates",
Antimicrobial agents and chemiotherapy, 37(4):825-834, 1993

ABSTRACT: In a survey of 640 human subjects, a subgroup of 356 persons
without recent exposure to antibiotics demostrated that those with a
high prevalence of Hg resisstance in their intestinal  floras were
significantly more likely to also have resistance to two or more
antibiotics.  Resistances to mercury and to several antibiotics were
examined in the oral and intestinal floras of six adult monkeys prior
to the installation of amalgam fillings, during the time they were in
place, and after replacement of the amalgam fillings with glass ionomer
fillings (in four of the monkeys). The monkeys were fed an antibiotic
free diet, and fecal mercury concentrations were monitorered. There was
a statistically siginficant increase in the incidence of mercury-resistant
bacteria  during the 5 weeks following installation of the amalgam fillings
and during the 5 weeks immediately following their replacement. These
peaks in incidence of mercuryresistant bacteria correlated with peaks of
Hg elimination (as high as 1mM in the feces) immediately following amalgam
placement and immediately after replacement of the amalgam fillings.
Representative mercury-resistant isolates of three selected bacterial
families (oral streptococci, enterobacteriaceae, and enterococcci) were
also resistant to one or more antibiotics, including ampicillin.
Many of the enterobacterial strains were able to transfer mercury and
antibiotic resistances together to laboratory bacterial recients,
suggesting that the loci for these resistances are genetically linked.
Our findings indicate that mercury released from amalgam fillings can
cause an enrichment of mercury resistance plasmides in the normal bacterial
floras of primates. many of these plasmids also carry antibiotic resistance,
implicating the exposure to mercury from dental amalgams in an increased
incidence of multiple antibiotics resistance plasmids in the non floras of
non-medicated subjects.


Edlund C, Bjorkman L, Ekstrand J, Sandborgh-Englund G, Nord CE,
"Resistance of the normal human microflora to mercury and antimicrobials
after exposure to mercury from dental amalgam fillings",
Clin Infect Dis, 22(6):944-950, June 1996

ABSTRACT: The concentrations of mercury in saliva and feces and the
resistance pattern of the gastrointestinal microflora were investigated for
20 subjects. Ten patients, with a mean number of 19 amalgam surfaces, had
all amalgam fillings removed during one dental session. Ten subjects without
amalgam fillings served as control group. Saliva and fecal sample were
collected before amalgam removal and 2, 7, 14, and 60 days afterwards.
Mercury levels in saliva and feces correlated significantly with the number
of amalgam surfaces. In the amalgam groups there was an increase in the
relative number of intestinal microorganisms resistant to mercury,
ampicillin, cefoxitin, erythromycin, and clindamycin on days 7-14. A
significant correlation between the prevalence of mercury resitance and
multiple antimicrobial resistance in intestinal bacterial strain was observed.

COMMENT: Ten subjects and ten controls is an extremely small sample in human
studies because, as noted by the authors, the large number of variables to
condsider in humans. In view of this small sample, the significance of the
findings in intestinal flora magnifies tremendously. The findings of mercury
correlation in saliva and feces adds further confirmation to significant
human exposure to amalgam mercury.


Omura Y, Beckman SL, "Role of mercury (Hg) in resistant infections &
effective treatment of chlamydia trachomatis and herpes family viral
infections (and potential treatment for cancer) by removing localized Hg
deposits with chinese parsley", Acupunct Electrother Res, 20(3-4):195-229,
1995

QUOTE: "Antibiotics used to treat various infections often were ineffective
in the presence of abnormal localized deposits of heavy metals like Hg and
Pb, which were often observed to coexist with Chlamydia trachomatis, Herpes
simplex types I & II, Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and other microorganism".

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