Manifestações neurológicas em ribeirinhos de áreas expostas ao mercúrio na Amazônia brasileira

• Autor(a) principal: Khoury, Eliana Dirce Torres
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Outros Autores: Souza, Givago da Silva, Silveira, Luiz Carlos de Lima, Costa, Carlos Araújo da, Araújo, Amélia A. de, Pinheiro, Maria da Conceição Nascimento
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Cadernos de Saúde Pública
• Texto Completo: https://cadernos.ensp.fiocruz.br/ojs/index.php/csp/article/view/5324
• topic: Exposição Ambiental; Intoxicação do Sistema Nervoso por Mercúrio; Mercúrio

This study evaluated current levels of mercury exposure and sensory symptoms in adults from three riverine communities in Pará State, Brazil, two of which located in the Tapajós River basin and one in the Tocantins basin. Participants in this study included 78 residents in Barreiras (Tapajós), 30 in São Luiz do Tapajós (Tapajós), and 49 in Furo do Maracujá (Tocantins). Total hair mercury concentrations were quantified by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and neurological evaluation was conducted by routine examination. Mercury concentrations in the Tapajós communities were higher than those in the Tocantins (p < 0.01). Evaluation of neurological changes showed no significant difference between the communities in exposed areas and control areas for the changes observed by conventional neurological examination, except for gait deviation (p < 0.05). The study concludes that despite the mercury exposure levels, there was a low frequency of sensory alterations according to conventional neurological testing.