Medical Masquerade: A Case Study of Mercury Exposure from Seafood Consumption

Date: October 11, 2012
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Although only a small percentage of Americans consume fish frequently (more than twice a week), they can incur health risks that are often unrecognized, in part because few studies have reported deleterious effects on adults. That story is beginning to change. A case in point is that of Mr. Richard Gelfond, who sought medical advice regarding his symptoms from several doctors and spent many months experiencing increased debilitation, before he was diagnosed with very high blood mercury levels. Not until his neurologist saw an article on mercury in fish in the New York Times did he ask his patient if he ate fish. He did—about two times a day on most days of the week. His blood mercury level was then shown to be one of the highest recorded by the NYSDOH. Although Mr. Gelfond’s story may not be common, there are certainly others with blood mercury levels of concern. Indeed, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducted a study in 2007 that estimated that 25% of all New Yorkers and almost half of all Asian New Yorkers exceed the EPA’s reference dose for blood mercury and are thus at risk for health effects.

At this seminar Richard Gelfond will discuss his personal experience with methylmercury toxicity. Expert physician, Michael Gochfeld, MD, PhD will describe the clinical aspects of the diagnosis and treatment of methylmercury health effects in fish consumers drawing from his many years of experience. Nicholas Fisher, PhD will explain how mercury cycles in the environment and why all fish are not equal with respect to mercury contamination.

About the Speaker(s)

Richard Gelfond is Chief Executive Officer and Director of IMAX Corporation and Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Stony Brook Foundation.

Michael Gochfeld, MD, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at UMDNJ-School of Public Health, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Institute.

Nicholas Fisher, PhD is a Distinguished Professor at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and Director of the Consortium for Interdisciplinary Environmental Research at Stony Brook University.

Registration Information
Cost: Free, but advance registration required
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