•Lead is a neurotoxin with a long history of use by humans.•Effects of low-level lead exposure on behavior and cognition are summarized.•Mechanisms of action for lead include neuronal and ...non-neuronal CNS targets.•The present level of concern set by the CDC for lead in blood is 5 μg/dL.•Lead levels below 3 μg/dL produce maladaptive behavior and cognitive deficits.
Lead is a neurotoxin that produces long-term, perhaps irreversible, effects on health and well-being. This article summarizes clinical and preclinical studies that have employed a variety of research techniques to examine the neurotoxic effects of low levels of lead exposure. A historical perspective is presented, followed by an overview of studies that examined behavioral and cognitive outcomes. In addition, a short summary of potential mechanisms of action is provided with a focus on calcium-dependent processes. The current level of concern, or reference level, set by the CDC is 5 μg/dL of lead in blood and a revision to 3.5 μg/dL has been suggested. However, levels of lead below 3 μg/dL have been shown to produce diminished cognitive function and maladaptive behavior in humans and animal models. Because much of the research has focused on higher concentrations of lead, work on low concentrations is needed to better understand the neurobehavioral effects and mechanisms of action of this neurotoxic metal.
Celery is one of the most important table plants in the world, this plant tends to collect many minerals from the surrounding environment, and one of these minerals is lead and chrome, which they ...considered toxic metals if they accumulate in this plant and accordingly three different areas were chosen for the cultivation of this plant. It was divided into areas contaminated with lead and chromium, which were close to the cement factory street and Bahr al-Najaf area polluted with sewage water and its air polluted by the smoke of bricks. The celery leaves and the soil planted in this sites were collected in December of the year 2020, for three replicates from each region, they were digested and the concentration of lead and chromium were detected. The results showed that the concentration of studied elements in the soil and plants of Bahr Al-Najaf < Al Ma'mal Street < Al Bu Hadari, and this difference was significant (< 0.05). Also, the results showed that the biological concentration of these elements were large in Bahr Al-Najaf area compared to Al-Ma'mal Street and Al-Bu Hadari area. Accordingly, the study recommends not to plant crops in polluted areas and the necessity of chalking the concentration of these elements of the soil and the surrounding environments of the plants before starting cultivation.
ObjectivesCritically shortening of telomere length caused by various factors including environmental pollutants results in genome instability and age-associated diseases. Lead is one of the ...ubiquitous environmental and occupational pollutants, potentially affecting public health even at a low level. However, it is still unclear whether lead exposure affects telomere length. This study aims to investigate the association between lead exposure and peripheral white blood cell telomere length (PWBTL) in Chinese battery manufacturing plant workers.MethodsLead levels in blood (BLL) and urine (ULL) were evaluated using flame atomic absorption spectrometry and lead mobilisation test for body lead burden (BLB) assessment, respectively. Quantitative PCR was employed to determine relative PWBTL. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to examine the associations of telomere length and other variables.ResultsPWBTL averaged 1.76 (telomere/single-copy gene of albumin, T/S) in 144 battery plant workers. Significantly shorter PWBTL was observed in the workers with abnormal BLL and/or ULL than those with normal ones (1.66±0.63 vs 1.91±0.46, p=0.010). In all workers, PWBTL was in negative correlations with BLL, ULL, time working at the plant (working length) and body mass index. A strong inverse correlation was observed between PWBTL and BLB (r=−0.70, p<0.0001) in those with abnormal BLL and ULL. GLMSELECT model showed in the subgroup of inpatient workers, working length and BLB were significantly in inverse associations with PWBTL, while BLL was in weak positive association with PWBTL.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that PWBTL shortening is associated with long-term lead exposure and that PWBTL may be one of the targets damaged by lead toxicity.
Lead wars Markowitz, Gerald; Rosner, David
2013., 20130306, 2013, 2013-04-30, Letnik:
24
eBook
In this incisive examination of lead poisoning during the past half century, Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner focus on one of the most contentious and bitter battles in the history of public health. ...Lead Wars details how the nature of the epidemic has changed and highlights the dilemmas public health agencies face today in terms of prevention strategies and chronic illness linked to low levels of toxic exposure. The authors use the opinion by Maryland's Court of Appeals—which considered whether researchers at Johns Hopkins University's prestigious Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) engaged in unethical research on 108 African-American children—as a springboard to ask fundamental questions about the practice and future of public health. Lead Wars chronicles the obstacles faced by public health workers in the conservative, pro-business, anti-regulatory climate that took off in the Reagan years and that stymied efforts to eliminate lead from the environments and the bodies of American children.
Inorganic lead is one of the most common causes of environmental metal poisonings, and its adverse effects on multiple body systems are of great concern. The brain, along with the kidneys, are ...critically susceptible to lead toxicity for their hosting of high affinity lead binding proteins, and very sensitive physiology. Prolonged low-lead exposure frequently remains unrecognized, causes subtle changes in these organ systems, and manifests later at an irreversible stage. With the repeated documentation of “no safe blood lead level”, the pernicious effects of lead at any measurable concentration need to be emphasized. In this review, we surveyed articles on chronic low-level lead exposures with a blood lead concentrations <10μg/dL and the development of neurobehavioral or renal disorders. The negative impacts of lead on both nervous and renal systems were obvious at a blood lead concentration of 2μg/dL, with the absence of any detectable threshold. The deleterious effect of lead on two different organ systems at such low concentrations drew our attention to the various extracellular and intracellular events that might be affected by minimal concentration of body lead, especially blood lead. Is there a true common ground between low-level lead toxicity in both the nervous system and the kidney?
The recent episode in Flint, Michigan, has brought the issue of lead in water into the public eye. But the dangers of lead exposure have been recognized for millennia, and we have the knowledge ...required to redress this social crime — if only we had the political will.
The dangers of lead exposure have been recognized for millennia. In the first century a.d., Dioscorides observed in his
De Materia Medica
that “lead makes the mind give way.” The first industrial hygiene act passed in the colonies, in 1723, prohibited the use of lead in the apparatus used to distill rum, because “the strong liquors and spirits that are distilld through leaden heads or pipes are judged on good grounds to be unwholsom and hurtful.” More recently, large amounts of lead were used to boost the octane rating of gasoline and improve the performance of paint. One would be . . .
We analyzed differences in pediatric elevated blood lead level incidence before and after Flint, Michigan, introduced a more corrosive water source into an aging water system without adequate ...corrosion control.
We reviewed blood lead levels for children younger than 5 years before (2013) and after (2015) water source change in Greater Flint, Michigan. We assessed the percentage of elevated blood lead levels in both time periods, and identified geographical locations through spatial analysis.
Incidence of elevated blood lead levels increased from 2.4% to 4.9% (P < .05) after water source change, and neighborhoods with the highest water lead levels experienced a 6.6% increase. No significant change was seen outside the city. Geospatial analysis identified disadvantaged neighborhoods as having the greatest elevated blood lead level increases and informed response prioritization during the now-declared public health emergency.
The percentage of children with elevated blood lead levels increased after water source change, particularly in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Water is a growing source of childhood lead exposure because of aging infrastructure.
Lead (Pb) both in paints and children's Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) toys is a major public health concern which has attracted attention of the international community. Concentrations of Pb both in ...lead-based paints and children's PVC toys have been assessed through various studies across the globe. Therefore, the purpose of this article was to summarize the results reported in these studies and provide some comprehension on their implications to human health for law enforcement as well as for awareness raising to the general public. Highlights on identified gaps have been provided to pave ways for further research interventions in order to establish comprehensive information on the subject.
Regardless of regulatory limits on the content of lead, both in paints and children's PVC toys existing in different countries in the world, some of the reviewed articles have revealed significant levels of lead in these two items far above the permissible limits.
High lead levels in paints have been recorded in China (116,200 ppm), Cameroon (500,000 ppm), South Africa (189,000 ppm), Tanzania (120,862.1 ppm), Uganda (150,000 ppm), Thailand (505,716 ppm) and Brazil (170,258.4 ppm) just to mention a few.
Lead poisoning cases in children have been reported in several countries including France, Morocco, South Africa and United States. Countries where high levels of lead in children's PVC toys have been recounted include; China (860,000 ppm), South Africa (145,000 ppm), United States (22,550 ppm), Thailand (4,486.11 ppm), Palestine (6,036 ppm) and India (2,104 ppm).
Awareness raising among parents is vital to impart them with knowledge on the matter so that they can take strenuous measures to protect their children from lead poisoning emanating from playing with toys and paint dust. Law enforcement on phasing out lead-based paints and control of lead content in children's PVC toys worldwide is also highly recommended.
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•Parents' awareness on lead poisoning in children in developing countries is still low.•Lead-based paints are still in the market especially in developing countries.•Prolonged exposure to lead can result into a wide spectrum of diseases.•Strenuous laws to combat lead-based paints are still lacking in developing countries.•The pvc toys sold in developing countries are of poor quality with high lead content.
Control of lead (Pb) both in paints and children's PVC toys is vital to safeguard mankind from this dangerous heavy metal.
The history of a long-running environmental catastrophe chronicles the harmful effects of lead pipes and their continued use despite evidence that they pose a significant health risk.
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