Important : Citations of scientific journal and other references found in this web page, and on this website are for journalistic and educational purposes only, presented as a free exchange of ideas. They do not represent a recommendation, endorsement, diagnosis, nor prescription for any health disorder or remedy by the authors, or their publishers.

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MELISA® is the registered trademark of MELISA MEDICA FOUNDATION

What MELISA provides is a reliable, objective means for determining individual immune system sensitivity to specific metals, and metal compounds.

Early work with MELISA indicates a subset of the general human population, at least 14%, form a memory lymphocyte mediated immune response specific to commonly used dental metals, at the concentrations they are leaching from dental restorations into the digestive system, tissues, and blood stream.

This knowledge is a critical missing piece in understanding a likely pathology for "amalgam disease", CFIDS , and various autoimmune conditions. Visit our page Proposed Immune-Metal Pathology to read our understanding of how all this fits together for chronic illness.

Below you will find two journal references regarding work done with the MELISA test. We have created graphs from the authors' published data to better visualize the study results.

In the case of oral lichens, a causal relationship between dental mercury and precancerous cells was demonstrated. MELISA showed a positive result in 72% of the patients against inorganic mercury. After removal of the mercury fillings, the patients oral lichens went away.

The second study demonstrates a direct correlation between brain lesions visible under MRI and a positive MELISA response to dental metal in the mouth of patients meeting the strictest definition of chronic fatigue syndrome.

For contact information and other important information concerning MELISA® test for metal allergy, visit the web site:

	MELISA MEDICA FOUNDATION
	www.melisa.org

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Title
Mercury-specific lymphocytes: an indication of mercury allergy in man.
Author
Stejskal VD; Forsbeck M; Cederbrant KE; Asteman O
Source
Journal of Clinical Immunology, 16(1):31-40 1996 Jan
Abstract
In this study, 18 patients with oral lichen planus (OLP), adjacent to amalgam fillings, were tested in vitro with an optimized lymphocyte proliferation test, MELISA (memory lymphocyte immunostimulation assay) and with a patch test. Twenty subjects with amalgam fillings but without oral discomfort and 12 amalgam-free subjects served as controls. The results show that patients with OLP have significantly higher lymphocyte reactivity to inorganic mercury, a corrosion product of amalgam, compared to control groups. Removal of amalgam fillings resulted in the disappearance of oral mucosal changes, thus indicating a causal relationship. Positive responses to phenylmercury (phenyl-Hg), a bactericidal agent in root fillings and in pharmaceutical preparations, were also noted in the oral lichen group but not in the control groups. Thus, low-grade chronic exposure to mercury may induce a state of systemic sensitization as verified by Hg-specific lymphocyte reactivity in vitro.

Title
Immunological and Brain MRI Changes in Patients with Suspected Metal Intoxication
Author
Tibbling L; Thuomas KA; Lenkei R; Stejskal VD;
Source
International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology, Vol. 4, No. 2, 1995
Abstract
Thirty-four patients with central nervous system (CNS) and systemic symptoms suggestive of intoxication from dental amalgam were examined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain (n=32) and with a Memory Lymphocyte Immuno Stimulation Assay (MELISA) (n=17). Lymphocyte phenotype was analyzed with flow cytometry (FC) in 22 of the patients. One hundred twenty age-matched patients without CNS symptoms served as controls for the MRI study, seventy-seven healthy subjects with dental amalgam fillings served as controls for the MELISA test, and seventy-five clinically healthy subjects were controls for the lymphocyte phenotype determination. Pathological MRI findings were present in 81% of the patients, most of them with signs of degeneration in the basal ganglia, but none in the controls. The lymphocyte phenotype determination was pathological in 58%. The MELISA showed pathological findings in 88%, of which 60% showed an immune reaction to mercuric chloride, 62% of the patients had some kind of atopic disease, and 35% suffered from levothyroxine-treated hypothyreosis. A high rate of immunopathologies and objective signs of immunological reactions in the majority of the patients with MRI changes in the brain suggests that immunological mechanisms may play an important role in the development of the lesions.