الفهرس 
HISTORY OF MERCURYOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Mercury is a heavy metal that is widespread in the environment. It is a toxic element for the cell, and its most toxic form is the organic form, methylmercury. It is formed during deposition into marine environments, where it becomes concentrated in animal tissues. Consumption of fish and seafood provides the primary method of exposure of human beings.
Exposure to mercury is especially important for pregnant women. The group bearing the highest risk is fetuses and neonates. Since, there is no barrier preventing transmission of mercury from mother to fetus. Therefore, the prenatal period is believed to be the most susceptible stage of life, and there is an increasing concern about the effect of prenatal Hg exposure on the fetus.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the levels of methylmercury in the serum of pregnant mothers and cord blood for 3rd trimester pregnant females who exposed to fish > 350 gm/week.
This suvey study was conducted on 40 pregnant women hospitalized for delivery at Port-Said general hospital in the period between March and August 2012. An interview questionnaire form was used to collect the data pertaining the demographics, obstetric history and frequency of fish consumption per week. All of them underwent thorough clinical examination. A maternal blood and cord blood samples were collected after delivery. Mercury concentrations in the maternal blood and, cord blood were measured using mercury analyser. Urinalysis, complete blood picture, liver function test and serum creatinine were performed.
The results revealed the following:
Their mean age was 29.3 ± 5.9 years ranging between 20 and 40 years. Nearly two-thirds (62.5%) of them were housewife.
Thirty five percent of the studied women have previous two deliveries and 82.5% % has no previous abortion.
The mean birth weight of the neonates was 3.2 ± 0.3 kg. Twenty percent of the enrolled neonates had low apgar score (0 – 3) at 1 min while none had low score at 5 min. Only two neonates were admitted to NICU for 2 hours due to transient tachypneic attack.
Mean mercury level was higher in cord than in maternal blood (17.2 ± 8.1 μg/L versus 14.7 ± 7.5 μg/L, respectively).
Thirty-five newborns (87.5%) and 33 mothers (82.5%) had mercury concentrations greater than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended reference dose of 5.8µg/L.
As regard frequency of fish consumption per week, only 12.5% of the women reported eating fish 2 times/week during pregnancy. Among women with higher intake, 47.5% reported fish consumption 3 times/week and 35.0% consumed fish 4 times/week.
There is an increasing trend of maternal and cord blood mercury level with increasing frequency of fish consumption per week. As regard the mercury concentrations in maternal blood, mothers consumed fish 2 times/ day’ showed statistically significant lower blood mercury levels than those consumed fish ≥ 4 times/ day.
Fish consumption frequency was positively correlated with maternal blood mercury concentrations (r=0.609; p < 0.01).
Total mercury in maternal and cord blood was not correlated with decreased birth weight
There is increasing trend in maternal blood and cord blood mercury level associated with decrease of apgar score level at both one and five minutes