This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Trope, I.
Right arrow Articles by Lenkinski, R. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Trope, I.
Right arrow Articles by Lenkinski, R. E.
Related Collections
Right arrow Miscellaneous
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

PEDIATRICS Vol. 107 No. 6 June 2001, pp. 1437-1442

EXPERIENCE AND REASON:
Exposure to Lead Appears to Selectively Alter Metabolism of Cortical Gray Matter

Received Apr 4, 2000; accepted Sep 21, 2000.

Idit Trope

Dolores Lopez-Villegas*

Kim M. Cecil*

Robert E. Lenkinski*

Department of Psychiatry and * Department of Radiology University of Pennsylvania Medical Center Philadelphia, PA 19104

Objective.  The effects of lead poisoning on the development of children have been examined primarily in the context of behavioral and neuropsychological studies. The purpose of this study was to examine the in vivo use of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) for the evaluation of the neurotoxic effects of lead on the nervous system. MRS has the ability to monitor brain metabolism by detecting a number of neurochemicals among which is N-acetylaspartate, a metabolite shown to decrease in processes that involve neuronal loss.

Methods.  In the present study we evaluated the metabolism of gray and white matter of frontal cortex using MRS in individuals with elevated blood lead levels and compared the results with those obtained on nonlead-exposed controls.

Results.  Although all of the participants had normal MRI examinations of the brain, the lead-exposed individuals exhibited a significant reduction in the N-acetylaspartate/creatine and phosphocreatine ratios in frontal gray matter compared with the nonlead-exposed controls.

Conclusions.  The findings of this study suggest that lead has an effect on brain metabolites as detected by MRS in vivo. More specifically, we have found statistically significant reduced levels of brain metabolites in gray but not white matter in lead-exposed individuals. These results imply that MRS is able to detect metabolic abnormalities in individuals with lead poisoning.  Key words:  lead, neuronal loss, proton MRS, brain cortex.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Neuroradiol.Home page
A. Ozturk, M. Degaonkar, M.A. Matson, C.T. Wells, E.M. Mahone, and A. Horska
Proton MR Spectroscopy Correlates of Frontal Lobe Function in Healthy Children
AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol., August 1, 2009; 30(7): 1308 - 1314.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Youth Violence and Juvenile JusticeHome page
J. P. Wright, D. Boisvert, and J. Vaske
Blood Lead Levels in Early Childhood Predict Adulthood Psychopathy
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, July 1, 2009; 7(3): 208 - 222.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
A. D. Woolf and N. T. Woolf
Childhood Lead Poisoning in 2 Families Associated With Spices Used in Food Preparation
Pediatrics, August 1, 2005; 116(2): e314 - e318.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Toxicol SciHome page
R. E. Lasky, M. L. Luck, N. A. Parikh, and N. K. Laughlin
The Effects of Early Lead Exposure on the Brains of Adult Rhesus Monkeys: A Volumetric MRI Study
Toxicol. Sci., June 1, 2005; 85(2): 963 - 975.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
J. L. VanArsdale, R. D. Leiker, M. Kohn, T. A. Merritt, and B. Z. Horowitz
Lead Poisoning From a Toy Necklace
Pediatrics, October 1, 2004; 114(4): 1096 - 1099.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]