Lead and Neurocogntiive Decline with Age

December 3, 2007

Early age and life time exposure to lead causes neurocognitive

decline in advancing age. Now wonder we have diseases such as

Alzheimer and senile dementia. The three epidemiology studies

summarived below are convincing. REMEMBER MANY PRODUCTS IMPORTED

FROM CHINA HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE FARILY HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF

LEAD. Jack D. Thrasher, Ph.D.

Among the features in the NIEHS newsletter:

Age-Related Cognitive Decline and Lead Exposure New research by NIEHS-

supported investigators suggests that the " normal " cognitive decline

experienced as we age may be related to our recent and

life-time exposure to lead. In three separate independent

epidemiologic studies, bone lead content was associated with poorer

measures of cognitive function.

One study included 1,109 former U.S. employees of a tetraethyl lead

manufacturing facility. Tetraethyl lead was used in gasoline in the

U.S. from the 1920's to the 1970's. Another study was based on 803

current and former workers in a Korean inorganic lead industrial

setting. Participants in the third study were 1,140 Baltimore

residents, aged 50-70, with environmental lead exposure.

Bone lead was measured using X-ray fluorescence of the tibia. The

researchers noted a persistent and consistent association of poorer

cognitive function with higher tibia lead levels in all three

studies. MRI brain scans in the U.S. worker cohort also showed lower

brain volumes in people with high tibia lead. The research also

indicates that the greater the bone lead content, the sooner the

cognitive decline starts.

Added to the knowledge that exposure to lead lowers the peak IQ a

person reaches, these studies show that lead exposure is a life-long

issue. The authors also point out that the current occupational

safety standards for lead workers are inadequate to protect them.

Citation: WF, Schwartz BS . 2007. Effects of lead on the

adult brain: a 15-year exploration. Am J Ind Med 50(10):729-739.

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