Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences
 

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MERCURY EXPOSURE: NOVEL THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES

RADU CIPRIAN ŢINCU 1,2, CRISTIAN COBILINSCHI 3, OANA ANDREIA COMAN 4, LAURENŢIU COMAN 5, IULIA FLORENTINA ŢINCU 6,7*, RADU ALEXANDRU MACOVEI 1,2

1.Critical Care Toxicology Unit, Clinical Emergency Hospital Bucharest, Romania
2.Discipline of Toxicology, Department of Orthopaedics - Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
3.Anesthesiology Intensive Care Unit, Clinical Emergency Hospital Bucharest, Romania
4.Discipline of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
5.Physiology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
6.“Dr. Victor Gomoiu” Clinical Children Hospital, Bucharest, Romania
7.Discipline of Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania

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In the past decade, it has been a focus on chronic, low or moderate exposure to methylmercury and some randomized control trials draw the attention on health implications of low-grade mercury toxicity. This study was aimed to evaluate efficacy of a combined treatment in mercury exposed patients. Subjects were randomized to receive chelation therapy alone or chelation therapy associated with a combination of Silybum marianum (172 mg), N-Acetyl-Cysteine (200 mg), L-Glutathione (25 mg), Vitamin C (120 mg), Selenium (100 μg), Helianthus tuberosus, Taraxacum officinale, Schisandra chinensis, Zingiber officinale, Citrus paradise (an already on use formula), respectively. A total of 300 patients were equally randomized in 2 groups. Patients in the intervention group had significantly lower levels of mercury after 30 days of treatment, as well as after 30 days since the treatment has stopped (6.1 ± 4.4 vs. 7.6 ± 4.0, p = 0.002 and 3.8 ± 3.0 vs. 5.5 ± 3.3, p = 0.000, respectively). This study provides evidence regarding some herbal extracts that may play a protective role against mercury toxicity, improving clinical scores when compared to standard treatment. More trials are needed to establish an integrative approach against mercury poisoning.