Myasthenia Gravis

and

Mercury

By Sylvan Caditz, PhD

The following article is primarily directed to the myasthenia gravis community – including patients, medics, administrators, and well-wishers. It is an initial presentation on the subject, and your comments, critiques, and editing suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Please e-mail me at sylcaditz@comcast.net.

Question

: Is mercury poisoning a possible, even likely, cause of myasthenia gravis?

Question

: Is the above question reasonable and legitimate?

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is typically described as an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder. It is characterized by an ongoing fluctuating weakness of voluntary muscle groups involving the eyes, face, swallowing, and shoulders, hip, and neck. Voluntary movement such as walking, finger control and muscular coordination can be compromised. Breathing also can be affected to the point hospitalization is required.

Conventional treatment involves the use of steroid immune system suppressers such as prednisone, and anticholinesterase drugs, usually pyrodostigmine. At present the goal of treatment is amelioration of symptoms. There is no known cause or cure for the condition.

Dealing with this disorder is especially daunting for various reasons, including:

• spontaneous fluctuation of symptoms, sometimes on a daily, weekly, monthly, and/or yearly time frame, makes the status of the disorder and the effectiveness of treatment difficult to evaluate;

• the therapeutic drugs used to treat the condition can themselves cause side effects that require additional treatment and add to the presenting pathology;

• the possibility of developing a cure that is beyond treating symptoms is highly problematic without the cause of the condition being identified.

An alternative approach to consider for the treatment of MG is to focus on and evaluate the possible, especially the most likely, causes of the pathology.

Mercury poisoning is a prime suspect, because mercury vapor and particles, similar to that of asbestos, are highly poisonous if inhaled into the lungs. Many of the pathological symptoms of mercury poisoning are similar, if not identical, to those of MG including extreme muscle weakness, double vision, shortness of breath, tremors, muscle cramps, apathy, and others.

It is important to know that the “silver” amalgam fillings, found in most peoples’ mouths, are actually 50% elemental mercury. Inhalation of the poisonous fumes and particles can occur as a result of the teeth’s rubbing together while chewing, tooth grinding during the night, and even tooth brushing and cleaning. The amount involved at any one time usually is minimal, but the problem is continuous and the results tend to accumulate. Susceptibility to the mercury poisons vary widely due to genetic makeup, overall health, and probably other factors as well. A specific allergy to organic mercury has been identified in a small percentage of people.

Amalgam fillings have been used by dentists for 150 years and are held to be completely safe by the American Dental Association. They continue to be used by many dentists as they are easy to use, highly durable, and relatively inexpensive. However, more and more dentists in this country, by some reports up to 50%, choose to do mercury-free dentistry.

Concern over the deleterious effects of amalgam fillings is widespread and growing. Norway, Sweden, and Denmark have prohibited their installation by law, based on the ever-growing body of experimental and anecdotal information that raises questions as to their safety. Official governmental warnings against their use have been posted in Germany, France, and many other countries.

If mercury is identified as a possible factor, perhaps even a cause of the MG syndrome, significant implications and opportunities present themselves:

• Perform a survey of MG patients to identify the amount of amalgam in their teeth and how long it has been there, and relate to the time of occurrence of their MG symptoms. The purpose would be to investigate a possible correlation between amalgam and the MG symptoms. Although not proving a causal relationship, a high correlation would be a smoking gun while being a relatively simple, straightforward procedure to perform.

• A serious research program developed, using control groups and double-blind procedures, exploring the possible role of external poisons and contaminants with regard to MG.

• Therapeutic efforts redirected towards supporting and enhancing the immune system, the body’s primary defense against external intrusions, rather than degrading it with such drugs as prednisone. The neuromuscular junctions of the body lack the protection of epidermal coverings, membranes, or fatty sheaths that other body parts have and therefore are more susceptible to mercury poisoning. Thus elevated levels of antibodies and other immune activity can be recognized as a defense, rather than an attack, on the acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junctions.

• The possibility remains, however slight it may be, that a cure for MG can be identified by exploring fresh approaches to this serious medical problem. Positive research results in this case would indicate that by avoiding and ameliorating mercury and other heavy metal contaminants, MG symptoms would be minimized and perhaps eliminated, offering hope that does not now exist.

My personal experience with MG is that one year ago I had extensive dental work that included amalgam fillings. Two weeks afterwards I suddenly developed double vision, an upsetting experience as I had not had a similar problem previously. Subsequently, most of the other symptoms of MG have appeared and have continually worsened despite the use of typical MG medications. Suspected amalgam fillings are now in the process of being removed. Beneficial results are awaited.