Lead exposure leads to brain damage years afterwards

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

People who worked with lead suffer loss of brain cells and brain damage in years to come, according to a new study.
The dangers of lead to the brain and nervous system have been known for many years. Now researchers in the USA reveal that lead exposure is an ongoing problem, although legislation has been brought in to reduce or eliminate this health hazard.

They looked at 532 former employees of a chemical manufacturing plant who had not been exposed to lead for an average of 18 years. The amount of lead accumulated in their bones was measured, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were done to measure any damage to the brain.

The higher the participants' lead levels were, the more likely it was that they had smaller brain volumes and areas of actual brain damage. A total of 36 per cent proved to have white matter lesions. The effect of lead exposure was equivalent to five years of aging, said the researchers. The findings confim earlier results on this particular study group which suggested decline in thinking and memory skills long after exposure. It looks as if these problems may be linked to lead-related brain damage.

Source
Neurology 23rd May 2006

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