“Mercury is the hottest, the coldest, a true healer, a wicked murderer, a precious medicine and a deadly poison, a friend that can flatter and lie.”     – Woodall from The Surgeon’s Mate, London, 1639

The Quicksilver Tri-Test is quite simply the most versatile diagnostic test available to determine exposure of various species (types) of mercury, and your individual ability to excrete both types of mercury.
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For informative videos giving an overview of this versatile test, follow these links to videos in which Dr. Christopher Shade explains what this test can tell you and your doctor!

https://vimeo.com/72699238

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Clinical Description: The Quicksilver Mercury Tri-Test is the only clinical test that utilizes mercury speciation analysis, a patented advanced technology that separates methyl mercury (MeHg) from inorganic mercury (HgII) and measures each directly. Quicksilver Scientific's instruments are sensitive enough to measure ambient mercury levels in the body WITHOUT THE NEED FOR CHALLENGE TESTING. This laboratory test provides unprecedented information for the healthcare practitioner, allowing them to assess the patient’s exposure sources, body burden and ability to excrete each form of mercury. This detailed information helps build an informed picture and allows the clinician to plan a rational approach to successful detoxification strategy for the patient.
What about Mercury Challenge Testing?
In the 1990’s, sensitivity of analytical equipment was not advanced enough to measure ambient (steady state) blood mercury levels. Therefore, “challenge” or “provocation” testing, using high doses of strong chelation agents, was developed to “pull” mercury out of organic cellular structure for urinary analysis under the diagnostic premise that it shows the mercury “body burden” of an individual and establishes correlation of long-term mercury burden. While mercury challenge testing was clinically relevant for the time, advances in technology and clinical study have proven challenge testing to be unreliable and even potentially damaging to the patient.
Problems associated with challenge testing include:

1. Challenge Test does not differentiate between MeHg and Hgll. Only Total mercury level is represented (HgT).
2. Challenge does not reflect the “pool” of mercury premise.
3. There is no “non-challenged” reference range to compare the challenge test to; from a regulatory standpoint, there is an obvious potential for over-treatment.
4. Lack of standardization of challenge conditions:
   1. Use of adjuncts such as EDTA, glutathione and glycine vastly changes the dynamics of the test and its output.
   2. IV vs. oral administration has vastly different pharmacokinetics.
   3. DMPS has a very different strength and specificity than DMSA.
5. Challenge exposes individual to large dose of exogenous substance.
6. Challenge may cause redistribution of mercury into organs, including the brain.
7. Challenge does not measure ambient mercury burden.
8. Challenge does not elucidate elimination abilities of patient.
9. Challenge results are skewed in individuals with renal insufficiency (common in Hgll toxicity).