Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Exposure to toxic elements via breast milk

A Oskarsson1, I Palminger Hallén, J Sundberg

  • 1Toxicology Division, Swedish National Food Administration, Uppsala.

The Analyst
|March 1, 1995
PubMed
Summary

Breast milk can transfer toxic elements like mercury to newborns. This study shows methylmercury exposure impacts infant immune cells and brain development, while inorganic mercury from dental amalgam also transfers via milk.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Ex-vivo and replica measurements of nasal tract resonances.

Rhinology·2025
Same author

Erratum: Centrality-Dependent Modification of Jet-Production Rates in Deuteron-Gold Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 122301 (2016)].

Physical review letters·2025
Same author

Disentangling Centrality Bias and Final-State Effects in the Production of High-p_{T} Neutral Pions Using Direct Photon in d+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV.

Physical review letters·2025
Same author

Measurements of Groomed-Jet Substructure of Charm Jets Tagged by D^{0} Mesons in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13  TeV.

Physical review letters·2023
Same author

Measurement of the Lifetime and Λ Separation Energy of _{Λ}^{3}H.

Physical review letters·2023
Same author

Measurement of the J/ψ Polarization with Respect to the Event Plane in Pb-Pb Collisions at the LHC.

Physical review letters·2023

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Toxicology
  • Neonatal Nutrition
  • Developmental Neurotoxicity

Background:

  • Breast milk, while ideal, can transmit toxic substances to newborns.
  • Limited research exists on breast milk as a primary exposure route for toxic elements.
  • Mercury and lead are significant environmental toxins with potential for excretion into breast milk.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the dose-dependent excretion and neonatal uptake of inorganic mercury, methylmercury, and lead via breast milk.
  • To assess the impact of mercury exposure on the immune system and developing brain in offspring.
  • To correlate mercury levels in lactating women's blood and breast milk with exposure sources like fish consumption and dental amalgam.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental models using rats and mice to study mercury transfer from plasma to milk and neonatal uptake.
  • Immunological assessments of thymocyte subpopulations and lymphocyte activity in offspring.
  • Neurochemical analyses of noradrenaline and nerve growth factor in the developing rat brain.
  • Biomonitoring of mercury levels in blood and breast milk of lactating women in Sweden, correlating with dietary fish intake and dental amalgam presence.

Main Results:

  • Higher transfer of inorganic mercury from plasma to milk compared to methylmercury.
  • Greater mercury uptake by neonates exposed to methylmercury in milk.
  • Methylmercury exposure led to altered thymocyte subpopulations, increased lymphocyte activity, and neurochemical changes in offspring.
  • Significant correlation found between blood and milk mercury levels in women (milk levels ~30% of blood levels).
  • Inorganic mercury from amalgam reflected in blood and milk; methylmercury from fish reflected in blood but not milk.

Conclusions:

  • Breast milk serves as a significant route for neonatal exposure to mercury, with methylmercury posing risks to immune and brain development.
  • Maternal exposure levels to mercury from fish and amalgam can be detected in blood and breast milk.
  • Further research is warranted to understand the full toxicological implications of mercury transfer through breast milk.

Related Experiment Videos