GlaxoSmithKline är industrimedlem i FDI World Dental Federation som organiserar nationella tandläkarförbund över hela världen. FDI representerar över en miljon tandläkare. FDI:s förre VD Dr. David Alexander handplockades direkt från GSK. Under sin tid vid GSK var han djupt envolverad i utbildningen av tandläkare inom International Federation of Dental Educators and Associations, IFDEA. 2007 fick föreningen 600 000 dollar från GSK, Han gjorde också mycket annat för att bereda väg för industrin...

Toxicokinetics of mercury after long-term repeated exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccine
2007 fick föreningen 600 000 dollar från GSK

Toxicokinetics of mercury after long-term repeated exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccine

Lars Barregard
Dinko Reki
Milena Horvat
Lisa Elmberg
Thomas Lundh and
Olof Zachrisson

+ Author Affiliations

*Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 414, SE 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden. E-mail: .; .

†Institut “Jozef Stefan”, Department of Environmental Sciences, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. E-mail: .

‡Unit for Pharmacokinetics and Drug Metabolism, Department of Pharmacology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, P.O.Box 431, SE 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden. E-mail: .

§Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, SE 221 85 Lund, Sweden. E-mail: .

¶Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, P.O.Box 430, SE 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden. E-mail: .

Correspondence: Lars Barregard, Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 16, P.B 414, SE 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden. Phone +46 31 786 28 96 or +46 707 22 28 96. Fax: +46 31 40 97 28. E-mail: .
Received October 10, 2010.
Revision received January 11, 2011.
Accepted January 11, 2011.

Abstract

The preservative thimerosal contains ethyl mercury (EtHg). Concerns over possible toxicity have reemerged recently, due to its presence in (swine and other) flu vaccines. We examined the potential accumulation of mercury in adults given repeated injections of a thimerosal-preserved vaccine for many years.

Fifteen female patients were recruited from an outpatient clinic running a clinical trial with repeated injections (1 mL every 3–4 weeks) of a staphylococcus toxoid vaccine containing 0.01% thimerosal, to treat chronic fatigue syndrome. Fifteen untreated female patients with the same diagnoses served as controls. Blood samples were taken before injecting the vaccine, one day later, about two weeks later, and just before the next injection. In the fifteen controls, samples were taken twice. Blood was analyzed for total mercury and EtHg. The toxicokinetics were assessed for each patient separately, as well as with a population-based pharmacokinetic model.

Total mercury in blood increased on day one in all treated patients (median 0.33, range 0.17–1.3 ?g/L), as did EtHg (median 0.14 ?g/L, range 0.06–0.43 ?g/L). After a few weeks levels were back to normal and similar to those in controls. Levels of methyl mercury (MeHg; from fish consumption) were much higher than those of EtHg. After exclusion of an outlier, the mean half-life in a population-based model was 5.6 (95% confidence interval 4.8-6.3) days.

The results indicate that mercury from thimerosal is not accumulated in blood in adults. This is in accordance with short half-lives and rapid metabolism of EtHg to inorganic mercury.

Key words
Mercury
ethyl mercury
methyl mercury
thimerosal
toxicokinetics
half life
© The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: .

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