This describes theoretically how a tiny bit of mercury can be a root cause to CFS/FMS.
1) Low Level Mercury Enters Body
The little mercury molecule is close to the bottom of the periodic table, which means it is very heavy, with 80 protons and neutrons in it's nucleus. This molecule is considered a poison by the Center for Disease Control and by the FDA. It is poisonous because it binds to other things in the body, and then inactivates or changes what they were doing. This molecule enters the body from 2 sources. One is dental amalgam (metal cavity filling in teeth), as noted in REFERENCE #7 and the other is from saltwater fish, which absorb it from water pollution.
The mercury dental amalgam is 200,000 ppm (parts per million) mercury, whereas the FDA says that more than 1 ppm mercury in food is no good. And the dental amalgam wears out and disappears over time, therefore requiring refilling of the cavity. And since our oceans are full of mercury from dumping waste products into the ocean, mercury is known to be in fish. Mercury can easily be measured using scientific instruments, and can therefore be detected in tissues, liquids, and solids; including things like urine, and organs from dead bodies. And this instrumentation can easily measure levels of mercury in fish (i.e. number of micrograms of mercury for each gram of fish), and is more often than not seen in saltwater fish (freshwater is ok).
An interesting study was done by Dr. Lorscheider who placed mercury fillings in sheep and in monkey, and then let them chew on them for several weeks. He then ground up the organs of these sheep and some control sheep that did not receive the amalgam (after sacrificing the animals), and found mercury molecules in almost every organ. For details, please see REFERENCE #7. He proved to the world that mercury molecules to can enter the organs from dental fillings.
2) Mercury Impairs The Immune System
Mercury molecules inactive a part of the immune system called Neutrophils. These are responsible for killing fungi inside the body (i.e. blood and soft tissues) that originate from places like the small intestine REFERENCE #1. Measuring Neutrophils function is very difficult, since a blood sample must be analyzed several hours after being drawn. Subsequently, very few Docs measure this. REFERENCE #2 shows how mercury can impair leukocytes, another part of the immune system that fights fungi. In our example case involving George, an immune test showed decrease leukocytes function. For details, click here.
3) With an Impaired Immune System, Fungi Grow Internally
It is well known in medicine that fungi cannot activate unless the immune system is impaired in some way (e.g. leukemia), and if someone does not have an obviously impaired immune system, then the traditional Doc will not think fungi. This is why Docs have not focused more on fungi. They are taught, if the patient does not have obvious external signs of fungi or does not have an impaired immune system (e.g. low white blood cell count, AIDS), then they should not think fungi.
One way to see fungi internally is a fungi antibody test, which shows soldiers in the blood that attack a specific type of fungi. Antibody tests have many false negatives, since they only test for a handful of specific fungi, and there are many possible types of fungi that can enter a body. This compounds the difficulty in implicating fungi in disease. In our example case, George had a very high antibody level to a fungi called Pullaria Pullans, as noted here.
4) Fungi Affix to Tissues And are Attacked By Immune System
Fungi, once in the blood, can go anywhere including soft tissues and joints. They can then be attacked by the immune system causing inflammation and pain. A good way to test for internal inflammation is a Sedimentation blood test.
5) Mercury Encourages Leaky Gut
Mercury can also inactivate enzymes in the liver, inhibiting it's ability to filter the blood. When this occurs, more waste products build within the body (the liver's job is to filter the natural waste products secreted by the body's cells), and the immune system becomes more sensitive, causing it to attack things which are not harmful (i.e. allergies). And when allergies develop to foods, the gut can be attacked by the immune system, and the person can develop Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). And then the small intestine wall inflames and becomes permeable to the large bacteria and fungi molecules in the gut, which leak into the blood, challenging the immune system further, making one more allergic, and inducing Fibromyalgia pain after they affix to joints and soft tissues.
6) Mercury Impairs The Manufacture of Blood
A study by Dr. James Woods published in the Journal of Toxicology 1993 REFERENCE #5 showed that mercury can inactivate the liver enzymes that are used in the manufacture of a precursor to blood called HEME, and this disrupts one's ability to generate energy. More specifically he showed that mercury can disrupt the Coproporphyrin III Porphyrin step. In our example case, George's Coproporphyrin III level was out of range, as shown here. There are very few things that cause this abnormal range yet do not affect other porphyrins (there are a total of 9 of them); therefore, this test is sometimes viewed as a biomarker for mercury. In other words, one an run this test and see if mercury had been in the body in the past, to the extent that it was able to disrupt this enzyme. If so, it probably did other deeds as well. For more information on how mercury can affect the blood, search "woods AND mercury" or "Aposhian AND mercury" at www.infotrieve.com/freemedline.
7) Mercury Impairs DBH, used to make Noradrenaline
There is evidence that mercury can block the dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) enzyme as noted in REFERENCE #8. DBH is used to make the noradrenaline (NA) neurotransmitter and low NA can cause fatigue and depression. Mercury molecules can block all copper catalyzed dithiolane oxidases, such as coproporphyrin oxidase (resulting in low copro III seen w/ Porphyrin Analysis) and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH). Low VMA, a by-product of NA, can be seen with a 24hr Organic Acids test. A low VMA level implicates low NA, which implicates low DBH, which implicates mercury (just implications, not conclusions, since other things can cause problems here as well). In our example case, George's VMA was close to 0, as shown here. Mercury can also clog the NA alpha-1 receptors, which reduces NA communication, and results in fatigue. Additionally, mercury can clog seratonin 5-HT2 receptors, impair astrocytic dopamine uptake, impair acetylcholine estererase, and impair cholinergic metabolism.
8) Heavy Metals Can Disrupt Sleep The Cycle
The Melatonin hormone controls the sleep/no sleep states. If Melatonin is on in the day, one will feels tired. If it is off at night, one cannot sleep (it should be the other way around). Too much noradrenaline (NA) at night can also inhibit the sleep state. A chemical called SAMe reduces the level of NA at night; yet mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium and a variety of other chemicals can bind to SAMe and make it less affective at reducing the night-time NA. If this is the case, supplementing with SAMe, available from health food stores, can help one sleep. In our example case, George's Melatonin was off at night, and on during the day, which is the opposite of what one would want. Those with mercury induced autoimmune problems can worsen from Melatonin supplements, and therefore Melatonin supplementation is not recommended for people with mercury issues.
H2S Is Similar To Mercury
H2S (hydrogen sulfide) is very similar to mercury, in that it can bind to many of the things that mercury binds to. In other words, all the bad things that mercury can do, as described above, H2S can do. H2S is a toxin that is created when sugar is fermented in the small intestine due to harmful bacteria or yeast. Therefore, a problem in the gut can cause problems similar to that caused by mercury.
