Itai-itai disease

The Itai - Itai disease (Japaneseイタイイタイ 病, Itai - Itai - byō, literally " ouch - ouch disease " due to the occurring severe pain ) is a chronic poisoning by cadmium that occurred in Toyama prefecture, Japan in 1950. The cadmium poisoning caused next to intense pain and bone softening and kidney failure and often ended fatally.

Cause

The Itai - Itai disease was caused by mines, where silver, lead, copper and zinc was recovered. Quite substantial amounts of cadmium into the river Jinzu. The river water was used to irrigate the rice fields and for drinking and washing water, as the river was fished heavily.

Effects

Due to the cadmium- polluted rice and fish is collected gradually cadmium in the body of the people. Cadmium accumulates in the kidney and damage it, so that even otherwise filtered proteins in the urine are excreted. So also calcium is not reabsorbed and excreted sufficiently. At the same time due to cadmium in the intestine, the decreased absorption of calcium, which is essential for bone structure. To compensate for these losses, calcium is now increasingly mobilized from the bone, resulting in brittle bones and thus to osteoporosis.

Similar diseases

Chronic poisoning by mercury is the trigger for the Minamata disease, lead can cause lead poisoning.