Linking Allergy to Mercury to HLA and Burning Mouth Syndrome

The document reports on two studies, with the first linking mercury allergy to HLA class II molecules and burning mouth syndrome (BMS) in two Italian, Caucasian, unrelated female patients. These patients, who had an extreme allergy to mercury and shared specific HLA class II haplotypes, experienced relief from BMS symptoms after their dental amalgams containing mercury were removed, suggesting a genetic predisposition to mercury allergy that may contribute to BMS. The second study involved 20 female patients with telogen effluvium and 20 healthy female controls, finding that silicon was present in the hair of only 5% of patients compared to 35% of controls, indicating a potential role for silicon in maintaining healthy hair and its deficiency possibly being linked to telogen effluvium.