Mercury Poisoning Presenting as Sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease: A Case Report

Letters17 March 2015Mercury Poisoning Presenting as Sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease: A Case ReportYi Tang, MD, PhD, Xiangbo Wang, MD, and Jianping Jia, MD, PhDYi Tang, MD, PhDFrom Xuan Wu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Neurology Consultation Center, Beijing, China., Xiangbo Wang, MDFrom Xuan Wu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Neurology Consultation Center, Beijing, China., and Jianping Jia, MD, PhDFrom Xuan Wu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Neurology Consultation Center, Beijing, China.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L15-5067 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Background: Mercury poisoning is a rare and highly disabling condition (1). Because early chelation therapy can decrease serum mercury concentrations, identifying mercury poisoning in its earliest stage is important.Objective: To alert clinicians that mercury poisoning may be confused with sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD).Case Report: A 42-year-old male office clerk who lived alone and was in good health except for well-controlled hypertension began having progressive memory disturbance that continued for 5 months. He was irritable and had difficulty recalling recent conversations. He also reported numbness and tingling in the limbs, slow movement, and sleepiness. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) ...References1. Clarkson TW, Magos L, Myers GJ. The toxicology of mercury—current exposures and clinical manifestations. N Engl J Med. 2003;349:1731-7. [PMID: 14585942] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Asano S, Eto K, Kurisaki E, Gunji H, Hiraiwa K, Sato M, et al. Review article: acute inorganic mercury vapor inhalation poisoning. Pathol Int. 2000;50:169-74. [PMID: 10792779] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Abbaslou P, Zaman T. A Child with elemental mercury poisoning and unusual brain MRI findings. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2006;44:85-8. [PMID: 16496500] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Puoti G, Bizzi A, Forloni G, Safar JG, Tagliavini F, Gambetti P. Sporadic human prion diseases: molecular insights and diagnosis. Lancet Neurol. 2012;11:618-28. [PMID: 22710755] doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(12)70063-7 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Murray K. Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease mimics, or how to sort out the subacute encephalopathy patient. Pract Neurol. 2011;11:19-28. [PMID: 21239650] doi:10.1136/jnnp.2010.235721 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Xuan Wu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Neurology Consultation Center, Beijing, China.Note: All authors contributed equally to this work.Grant Support: By the National Science Foundation of China (30900478), the New-Star of Science and Technology supported by Beijing Metropolis (2010B053), and the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (7102072).Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L14-0348. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited ByRecent developments of heavy metals detection in traditional Chinese medicine by atomic spectrometryExposure routes and health effects of heavy metals on childrenMercury poisoning caused by Chinese folk prescription (CFP) 17 March 2015Volume 162, Issue 6Page: 462-463KeywordsBrainCognitive impairmentDisclosureHematologic testsLesionsMemoryNeuroimagingUrine ePublished: 17 March 2015 Issue Published: 17 March 2015 CopyrightCopyright © 2015 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...