The Mercurofungal Disease Hypothesis

This paper presents a hypothesis regarding a new disease concept, Mercurofungal disease. Mercurofungal disease is considered to potentially cause primarily neuropsychiatric symptoms—including fatigue, decreased motivation, impaired cognitive function, brain fog, and depressive symptoms—through the interaction between mercury in the body and the commensal gut fungus Candida albicans. This hypothesis is based on the observations of the author and a small number of patients exhibiting similar symptoms and has not been scientifically verified. In Mercurofungal disease, characteristic phenomena are observed in which symptoms worsen after ingestion of certain foods or medications, which the author calls the "die-off reaction" and the "cysteine reaction". The proposed pathogenesis may involve two bidirectionally interacting pathways: (i) the accumulation of mercury causing proliferation or property changes in Candida albicans, and (ii) the proliferation or property changes of Candida albicans leading to mercury accumulation. Regarding diagnosis, conventional blood or hair tests rarely show abnormalities; thus, a hypothesis-based approach primarily relying on observation of symptoms and reactions is proposed. This paper is entirely based on the author’s observations and hypotheses, and practical application is strictly prohibited. Further studies involving scientific verification are needed.