ACUTE EXPOSURE TO MERCURY FROM AMALGAM - NO SHORT-TIME EFFECT ON THE PERIPHERAL-BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES IN HEALTHY-INDIVIDUALS

Mercury, released from dental amalgam, has been considered to adversel y affect the human immune system. The study has been performed in orde r to evaluate if an acute low-dose mercury exposure, achieved by total amalgam removal in 10 healthy individuals, would affect the immunocom petent cells in human blood when the mercury level in blood and plasma was increasing. Induction of lymphocyte proliferation, measured as sp ontaneous de novo DNA synthesis, and total T cells, CD4(+) T cells, CD 8(+) T cells, and B cells, was studied prior to and 7, 31, and 48 h af ter amalgam removal. In addition, the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) a nd C-reactive protein (CRP) in serum/plasma were measured. Despite a s ignificant increase of the plasma mercury levels within 24 h after int ervention, no significant influence on the peripheral blood lymphocyte s could be detected during the first 48 h. The serum IL-6 levels incre ased significantly within 48 h after intervention, but were still low and within normal range. No influence on the CRP levels up to 7 d afte r amalgam removal was detected.