Thirty-four patients with central nervous system and and systemic symptoms were examined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and with MELISA. Lymphocyte phenotype was analyzed with flow cytometry in 22 of the patients. 120 age-matched patients server as controls for the MRI study, 77 healthy subjects with dental amalgam filling served as controls for the MELISA test and for lymphocyte phenotype determination. Pathological MRI findings were present in 81% of the patients, most of them with degeneration in the basal ganglia. Lymphocyte phenotype determination was pathological in 58%. 60% of patients showed increased lymphocyte proliferation to mercury. The authors conclude that immunological mechanisms may play an important role in the development in brain lesions in amalgam intoxicated patients.

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