Renal Tubular Dysfunction in Minamata Disease

Abstract

"Minamata disease" was found among the residents along Minamata bay contaminated with the effluent from an industrial plant using mercury. The patients were suffering from various neurologic disorders primarily due to organic mercury poisoning. Evidence is described of renal tubular dysfunction associated with this disease by the immunochemical demonstration or renal tubular epithelial antigen and beta-2-microglobulin in the urine. Nineteen patients with Minamata disease and 35 diseased and healthy control subjects were examined. The contents of urinary renal tubular epithelial antigen and beta-2-microglobulin, and the ratios of these proteins to albumin in individuals with Minamata disease were significantly different from the levels in healthy control subjects (P less than 0.05) were identical to those found in patients with tubular and the values, proteinuria. These results indicate that Minamata disease is associated with renal tubular dysfunction, and also suggest that these procedures would be useful for screening the nephrotoxicity in the environmental exposure of heavy metals.