Mercury and Alzheimer's

I was curious whether anyone had studied a possible connection between vaccines and Alzheimer's disease. Using Google, I found this quote, widely distributed on the web:

According to Hugh Fudenberg, MD, the world's leading immunogeneticists and 13th most quoted biologist of our times (nearly 850 papers in peer review journals): If an individual has had 5 consecutive flu shots between 1970 and 1980 (the years studied) his/her chances of getting Alzheimer's Disease is 10 times higher than if he/she had one, 2 or no shots. Dr. Fudenberg said it was so and that it was due to mercury and aluminum that is in every flu shot. The gradual mercury and aluminum buildup in the brain causes cognitive dysfunction.

For every page which includes this quote, there are 3 ridiculing it. But none of the discussion has any flavor of credibility. There are lots of ad hominem attacks on Hugh Fudenberg, but I can't find any reasonable dispute of his long and distinguished scientific career. He is a key player in the early evidence for a link between mercury and autism. That link seems to have been disproven, but that is common in science.

Given the controversy, his role in it, and his many awards, I find it curious that Dr. Fudenberg does not have a Wikipedia page.

As far as I can tell, the above quote is based on an interview with Dr. Fudenberg, and not on a peer reviewed article, so it has little weight. But I could not find any studies rejecting a connection with Alzheimer's. So those who think this possibility is worthy of ridicule are basing their conclusions on prejudice.

Here's an interesting video that explains why people worry about mercury's effect on brain function.



Here's another quote from a guy trying to debunk the mercury connection:

A 1997 study from the Universities of Calgary and Kentucky exposed rats to high concentrations of mercury vapor for four hours per day up to 28 days [8]. Some of the rats showed brain lesions similar to those found in humans with Alzheimer's disease. Anti-amalgamists assert that this study provides evidence that dental amalgam fillings can cause Alzheimer's disease [7]. However, humans with an average of 25 surfaces of amalgam fillings would only inhale 2 µg Hg/m3 during four hours of stimulated conditions [9] versus the 250 or 300 µg Hg/m3 vapor used in this study. The rats were therefore exposed to over 100 times greater concentrations of mercury vapor than humans with 25 amalgam surfaces would typically inhale, even under stimulated conditions. The rat study therefore has little relevance to whether mercury from amalgams causes Alzheimer's disease.
...
[7] Scientists connect Alzheimer's Disease to mercury: Bio-Probe News Website. Available at: http://www.bioprobe.com/ReadNews.asp?article=31. Accessed March 31, 2001.
[8] Pendergrass JC, Haley BE, Vimy MJ, Winfield SA, Lorscheider FL. Merucry vapor inhalation inhibits binding of GTP to tubulin in rat brain: similarity to a molecular lesion in Alzheimer diseased brain. NeuroToxicology 1997;18:315-24.
[9] Langworth S, Kölbeck K-G, Åkesson A. Mercury exposure from dental fillings. II. Release and absorption. Swed Jdent J 1988;12:71-2.

But this would tend to support the connection. If the concentration was 100 times higher for only one month for 1/6 of each day than humans get with 25 amalgam surfaces, then you could expect a similar result with the lower concentration for 8 years with 4 amalgam surfaces (did that make any sense?). Linearity is a big assumption, but unless shown otherwise, it is the best assumption available.