1. "...Some experts on auto-immune disorders,...believe that one of the underlying causes of the explosion in auto-immune diseases is due to pesticides used as common practice in agriculture. There is also much evidence that all chronic health disorders, including auto-immune can be triggered by the accumulation of heavy metals in the body, especially those involving the nerves such as M.S, ALS, Motor-neuron disease. " (1)

2. "Candida - Another effective way to combat candida is using zinc therapy. Candida is killed by metallothionein (MT) proteins which are normally in high concentration in intestinal mucosa. MT is induced by zinc. Many persons with candida are low zinc and low MT persons. They usually exhibit low zinc in plasma, serum, or packed cells, but high zinc in hair. You can expect chronic candida problems until zinc is normalized. In a sense, zinc can be an effective weapon in your anti-candida arsenal. Typical anti-candida therapies (including dietary restrictions) can manage the problem for a while....... Maintenance supplementation with zinc (after these interventions) can permanently fix the problem, in many cases, without the need to continue dietary vigilance. (Feb 5, 2003)...Metallothionein levels are reported to be related to Attention Deficit Disorders" (2)

3. Relationship to Diabetes and Heart Disease.  

4. ""Scientists have discovered the ability of a protein which helps the brain heal itself...Research performed over the past two years by Mr Chung, a PhD student in the NeuroRepair Group at the University of Tasmania, has identified the ability of a family of naturally-occurring proteins, named metallothioneins, to influence brain healing following injury...The first would be by boosting the amount of metallothionein produced by the brain following a traumatic event...“To do that we’d need to discover the on-off switch that allows the body to produce the protein naturally, which is something that we are investigating right now” he said. “The second possibility would be to make metallothionein artificially, which is a straightforward process, and inject it directly into patients.” ..." (3)

5. Metallothionein and Autism. "... metallothionein (MT) proteins, their central role in autism, and provides more than 100 references. The Pfeiffer Treatment Center recently discovered that (a) most autism-spectrum patients exhibit evidence of an MT dysfunction, and (b) many of the classic features of autism can be explained by this dysfunction. We believe that autism results from a genetic defect in MT functioning followed by an environmental insult. A metallothionein theory of autism is presented along with discussion of treatment opportunities."  (4)

6. " People with health issues have one thing in common: Almost all of them have some degree of digestive failure...This is what the body faces. It needs to make thousands of enzymes and other necessary chemicals, but does not have the raw materials. And it cannot get them from food because the digestion is not efficient enough. Even supplementation of stomach acid and enzymes usually does not enable the body to make enough free amino acids. So necessary materials cannot be produced. One compound that is necessary for health in a polluted world is metallothionein...The body uses metallothionein to carry away mercury and other toxic metals. But the body cannot make this material if there is a shortage of free amino acids. At http://www.doctorvickery.com there are more charts showing toxic metal removal using a product called Platinum Plus Essential Amino Acids. Each patient was also required to take a multivitamin-mineral product and 1/4 teaspoon of natural salt ( such as Real Salt or Celtic salt) in water daily. Those who did not take in enough salt failed to make good progress...The body also needs free amino acids to make neurotransmitters. I am hearing reports from people recovering from depression while using amino acids...The immune system also needs free amino acids...Fibromyalgia is another condition where there is an amino acid deficiency. Other conditions that involve a lack of free amino acids include skin wrinkling, thinning of hair, weak fingernails along with more serious conditions such as digestive failure, irritable bowel, chronic fatigue, spinal disk degeneration, joint degeneration, osteoporosis, pain and stiffness, infections, and stress to every tissue in the body...Amino acids are food. They are not medication and they do not "cure" anything. They do not make anything happen. They simply provide raw materials to the body. When combined with vitamins, minerals (especially sulfur) and essential fatty acids, they just help people move toward health." (5) The source article contains a lot of important information including MT's relationship to the immune system.

7. "...MT may therefore represent a "danger signal"; modifying the character of the immune response when cells sense cellular stress. Elevated metallothionein produced in the context of exposure to environmental toxicants, or as a result of chronic inflammatory disease, may alter the normal chemotactic responses that regulate leukocyte trafficking. Thus, MT synthesis may represent an important factor in immunomodulation that is associated with autoimmune disease and toxicant exposure." (6)

8. Low MT causes Liver problems "Methionine: Methionine levels are a major determinant in the liver's concentration of sulphur-containing compounds, such as glutathione and cysteine. As methionine is the precursor for the manufacture of cysteine in the body, extra supplementation of this critical amino acid should increase available cysteine. Animal studies have shown that methionine protects rats from the toxic effects of lead and mercury. Chelating agents such as DMSA (dimercapto succinic acid) and DMPS (dimercapto-propane sulfonic acid) bind to cysteine for excretion. L-cysteine bound to mercury (L-penicillamine, N-acetyl-L-cysteine, DMSA and glutathione complexed with methylmercury) resembles the L-methionine molecule and can cross the blood brain barrier. L-methionine inhibits the transport of these complexes into the brain. Methionine increases the bioavailability of glutathione. Most of the cysteine required for the resynthesis of glutathione must originate from methionine and not from cysteine generated by the catabolism of glutathione. Patients taking only D-L-methionine increased mercury excretion in the urine by 60% over the excretion rate before taking the methionine. Lead excretion was also increased. The L-form is rapidly metabolized by the liver and does not offer a sustained antioxidant level. Over half of the D-form is slowly metabolized by the same pathways as excess L, and acts identical to L as an antioxidant. The benefit of the D-L form of methionine is the D form provides sustained blood levels allowing he L-form to be converted to other sulfur antioxidants. Babies need 22 mg/Kg body weight of methionine on a daily basis while adults need 10 mg/Kg of body weight daily."(8)" (7)

9. "Exposure to heavy metals is a common phenomenon due to their environmental pervasiveness. Metal intoxication particularly neurotoxicity, genotoxicity, or carcinogenicity is widely known. This review summarizes our current understanding about the mechanism by which metalloids or heavy metals (particularly arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury) induce their toxic effects. The unifying factor in determining toxicity and carcinogenicity for all these metals is the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. The toxic manifestations of these metals are caused primarily due to imbalance between pro-oxidant and antioxidant homeostasis which is termed as oxidative stress" (9) This report has significant importance in treating oxidative stress and oxidation factors. It validates my claim that the first step to repair ones health is to find and eliminate the root causes. Treating diabetes, immune disorders, and oxidative stress when caused by heavy metal toxicity, parasites or any root cause nullifies the effectiveness of their treatments.

10."The liver is the major detoxification center of the body. It acts as an “in-line” filter for the removal of foreign substances and wastes from the blood. Toxins that are cleared by the liver include alcohol, solvents, formaldehyde, pesticides, herbicides and food additives. Despite varying chemical toxicity, the liver has the function of reducing toxins into compounds that the body can safely handle and remove through the kidneys (as urine), skin (as sweat), lungs (as expelled air) and bowels (as feces). Optimal liver function is therefore essential for good health. The symptoms of heavy metal poisoning in the liver include psychological and neurological symptoms such as depression, headache, mental confusion, mental illness, abnormal nerve reflexes and tingling in the hands. The solution is to take compounds that support the liver's detoxification mechanism. Such compounds include milk thistle extract, choline, methionine , and antioxidants." (12)
11. "Metallothionein protein plays an important role in regulation of zinc and copper levels in the blood, detoxification of heavy metals as they enter the body, development and continued functioning of the immune system, development and pruning of brain cells, (neurons), prevention of yeast overgrowth in the intestines, production of enzymes that break down casein and gluten, production of hydrochloric acid by stomach cells, taste and texture discrimination by the tongue, behavior control and development of memory and social skills." (13)

12. "Metallothionein (MT) plays a role in fundamental cellular processes such as proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation. We examined MT expression in women with invasive breast ductal carcinoma who underwent mastectomy/lumpectomy without neo-adjuvant treatment. We showed that MT was over-expressed in 87.9% of breast cancer tissues examined" (14) MT shown to relate to breast cancer

13. "Grape seed procyanidins inhibit the expression of metallothione in genes in human HepG2 cells...Our findings demonstrate that metallothionein genes are direct targets of procyanidins action, both in vivo and in vitro, in hepatic cells. Thus, this study will help to elucidate the mechanisms by which procyanidin exert their beneficial actions." (15)
12. "New insights into generalized hepatoprotective effects of oleanolic acid: key roles of metallothionein and Nrf2 induction. OA treatment also increased the expression of genes related to cell proliferation and suppressed the expression of several cytochrome P450 genes possibly to switch cellular metabolic energy to an acute-phase response. Hepatic MT protein was increased 60- and 15-fold in mice and rats, respectively, together with a 30% increase in mouse liver zinc. These gene expression changes, particularly the dramatic induction of MT and the Nrf2 signaling, occur with hepatoprotection doses of OA, and likely are important in the generalized protective effects of OA against hepatotoxicants." (16)

12. "Podocyte-specific overexpression of the antioxidant metallothionein reduces diabetic nephropathy." (17) Means high expression of metallothionein reduces diabetic nephropathy, thus low MT relates to nephropathy.

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