McCaulley Mark E
Yampa Valley Medical Associates, Steamboat Springs, USA;
Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars). 2019;79(2):113-125.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an increasingly prevalent neurodevelopmental condition of unknown etiology. Mercury is a common, highly neurotoxic heavy metal. The similarities of neurologic manifestations of mercury exposure and ASD raise an intriguing hypothetical question: Is ASD, at least partially, a manifestation of mercury toxicity? The fetus is particularly vulnerable to mercury exposure from the "double jeopardy" combination of the genetics of his mother and his own genetics, as relates to mercury toxicity. In this paper, I review the evidence suggesting relationships between ASD and mercury toxicity. I suggest ways to confirm these relationships with genetic and epigenetic research. I propose a hypothesis associating mercury toxicity with ASD. This may present opportunities for further research in prevention and treatment of ASD.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一种病因不明、日益普遍的神经发育疾病。汞是一种常见的、具有高度神经毒性的重金属。汞暴露和自闭症谱系障碍的神经学表现相似，这引发了一个有趣的假设问题：自闭症谱系障碍是否至少部分是汞毒性的一种表现？由于母亲的遗传因素及其自身与汞毒性相关的遗传因素这一“双重危险”组合，胎儿特别容易受到汞暴露的影响。在本文中，我回顾了表明自闭症谱系障碍与汞毒性之间关系的证据。我提出了通过基因和表观遗传学研究来证实这些关系的方法。我提出了一个将汞毒性与自闭症谱系障碍相关联的假设。这可能为自闭症谱系障碍的预防和治疗的进一步研究提供机会。
