EVISA Print | Glossary on | Contact EVISA | Sitemap | Home   
Search
 Advanced search
The establishment of EVISA is funded by the EU through the Fifth Framework Programme (G7RT- CT- 2002- 05112).


Supporters of EVISA includes:
Home ›› About Speciation ›› Speciation News

New results about toxicity of thimerosal

(27.04.2005)

Thimerosal, an organomercury compound which has been used since the 1930's as a preservative in vaccines, is much faster cleared from the body than methylmercury, mainly taken up from contaminated fish. This is the result of a study recently published by a group of US researchers in Environmental Health Perspectives.

The group compared the systemic disposition and brain distribution of total and inorganic mercury in infant monkeys following thimerosal exposure with infants exposed to MeHg. The initial and terminal half-life of Hg in blood following thimerosal exposure was 2.1 and 8.6 days, which are significantly shorter than the elimination half-life of Hg following methylmercury exposure at 21.5 days. Brain concentrations of total mercury were significantly lower by ~3-fold for the thimerosal-exposed infants when compared to the methylmercury infants and a higher percentage of the total mercury in the brain was in the form of (less toxic) inorganic mercury for the thimerosal-exposed infants (34% vs 7%).
 
This study indicates that methylmercury is not a suitable reference for risk assessment from exposure to thimerosal derived mercury. Toxicokinetics and developmental toxicity of thimerosal itself have to be studied to afford a meaningful assessment of the effects of thimerosal-containing vaccines.
 
Until such data is available, the current debate linking the use of thimerosal in vaccines to autism and other developmental disorders (IOM 2001, 2004) will probably continue (see news below).


The original study:
 
 Thomas M. Burbacher, Danny D. Shen, Noelle Liberato, Kimberly S. Grant, Elsa Cernichiari, and Thomas Clarkson, Comparison of Blood and Brain Mercury Levels in Infant Monkeys Exposed to Methylmercury or Vaccines Containing Thimerosal, Environ. Health Perspect., 113/8 (2005) 1015-1021. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.7712
 
 

Related News:
 




Related EVISA News (newest first)





last time modified: October 13, 2024



Comments


Events
See the complete list of deadlines!
Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry
12.01.2026
Tucson, AZ
Gordon Research Seminar: Bioinorganic Chemistry
16.01.2026
Ventura, California, United States
Gordon Research Conference: Metals in Biology
18.01.2026
Ventura, California, United States
... more Events
News
What's new on EVISA's web site ?
The European Virtual Institute for Speciation Analysis: Promoting Speciation Analysis for More Than 22 Years – Still a Necessary Activity?
New selenium compounds found in edible mushrooms
Simultaneous Speciation Analysis of Iodine-, Gadolinium-, and Platinum-Based Pharmaceuticals by HILIC-ICP-MS and Its Application to Wastewaters
Overview of automation in speciation analysis
... more News




Imprint     Disclaimer

© 2003 - 2025 by European Virtual Institute for Speciation Analysis ( EVISA )