Abstract
Accurate assessment of early life lead exposure requires an accessible and reliable biomarker.
Highlights
Lead is a persistent environmental pollutant with both acute and chronic health effects.[1]
The controlled exposure to lead of female Wistar rats and their pups in the present study has revealed a distinct pattern in the uptake of lead in teeth, blood, bone and the key organs studied
Very little is known about the correlations between dental lead levels and lead levels in key organs
Summary
Lead is a persistent environmental pollutant with both acute and chronic health effects.[1] Toxicity targets multiple systems, including renal, cardiovascular, intestinal and central nervous systems,[2] primarily by compromising antioxidant mechanisms and generating excessive oxidative stress.[3] Following exposure, lead is found heterogeneously distributed across blood, tissue and bone repositories, with half-lives ranging from weeks in blood to years in bone,[4] which is the largest storage pool in the body and is able to remobilise lead during periods of altered mineral metabolism, such as during pregnancy and lactation.[5]. The precise mechanism by which lead imparts neurotoxicity during this period is unclear, though animal studies have shown that it disrupts neurotransmitter synthesis,[6] impedes calcium-dependent processes including nitric oxide synthesis[7] and increases the rate of apoptosis through elevated oxidative stress in hippocampal. Recent evidence has shown that coexposure to lead with other potentially toxic metals, such as manganese during the second year of life can potentiate lead neurotoxicity.[13]
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