engleski

Relationship between prenatal exposure to mercury and the size of newborn's cerebellum

Methyl mercury, formed by methylation of mercury, is highly toxic and readily absorbed by the body following ingestion of the marine origin food products. Developing fetus, particularly its central nervous system, is more vulnerable to the exposure to methyl-mercury.The AIM of the study was to asses the correlation between prenatal exposure to low levels mercury and the size of the newborn&#8217; s cerebellum. Prospecitively 137 childbearing women with non-complicated term pregnancies were included in the study. Maternal hair has been used as a vehicle for measuring prenatal exposure to mercury. Majority of the sample consisted of mothers with lower hair levels of mercury (< 1 mcg/g) whose newborns had greater mean values of length and width of cerebellum compared to those whose mothers had higher hair levels of mercury. However difference did not reach the level of statistical significance.

Methyl mercury; size of the newborn&#8217; s cerebellum; prenatal exposure

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