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Long-term lead exposure linked to cognitive decline in older adults
September 14, 2006ST. PAUL, Minn - Older adults exposed to high levels of lead before the 1980s are showing signs of cognitive decrements as a result of long-term lead exposure in their communities, according to a study published in the online edition of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The study involved 985 adults randomly selected throughout the city of Baltimore, Maryland. The participants were between the ages of 50 and 70 years old and had been exposed to higher levels of lead prior to the 1980s when lead had been used extensively in commercial products.
In determining the association between high levels of lead and lower cognitive performance, researchers tested the amount of lead in the tibia, or shinbone, since lead accumulates in bone. Participants also performed 20 cognitive tests to measure language, processing speed, eye-hand coordination, executive functioning, verbal memory and learning, and visual memory.
The study found higher tibia lead levels were consistently associated with worse cognitive performance on tests.
"The analysis showed the effect of community lead exposure was equivalent to two to six years of aging," said principal investigator Brian Schwartz, MD, with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. "If lead is associated with lower cognitive performance, this may suggest possible treatment and prevention options for older adults."
In addition, the study found tibia lead levels were significantly higher in African Americans compared to Caucasians. Researchers say the difference likely represents the long-term higher environmental lead exposures sustained by African Americans in the United States, but could also be due to different bone mineral densities in African Americans compared to Caucasians.
American Academy of Neurology
The study found higher tibia lead levels were consistently associated with worse cognitive performance on tests.
"The analysis showed the effect of community lead exposure was equivalent to two to six years of aging," said principal investigator Brian Schwartz, MD, with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. "If lead is associated with lower cognitive performance, this may suggest possible treatment and prevention options for older adults."
In addition, the study found tibia lead levels were significantly higher in African Americans compared to Caucasians. Researchers say the difference likely represents the long-term higher environmental lead exposures sustained by African Americans in the United States, but could also be due to different bone mineral densities in African Americans compared to Caucasians.
American Academy of Neurology
Cognitive Decline Current Events and Cognitive Decline News RSSSurgery not linked to memory problems in older patients
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Cognitive dysfunction reversed in mouse model of Down syndrome
A study by neuroscientist William C. Mobley, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues at Stanford University Medical School has demonstrated a possible new approach to slowing the inevitable progression of cognitive decline found in Down's syndrome.
Researchers find potential treatment for Huntington's disease
Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham), the University of British Columbia's Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics and the University of California, San Diego have found that normal synaptic activity in nerve cells (the electrical activity in the brain that allows nerve cells to communicate with one another) protects the brain from the misfolded proteins associated with Huntington's disease.
Reduced muscle strength associated with risk for Alzheimer's
Individuals with weaker muscles appear to have a higher risk for Alzheimer's disease and declines in cognitive function over time, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
APP -- Good, bad or both?
New data about amyloid precursor protein, or APP, a protein implicated in development of Alzheimer's disease, suggests it also may have a positive role -- directly affecting learning and memory during brain development.
Declines in other thinking and learning skills may precede memory loss in Alzheimer's disease
Cognitive abilities other than memory, including visuospatial skills needed to perceive relationships between objects, may decline years prior to a clinical diagnosis in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Alcoholism's effect on sleep persists during long periods of sobriety
A study in the Oct.1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that long-term alcoholism affects sleep even after long periods of abstinence, and the pattern of this effect is similar in both men and women.
Impaired kidney function linked to cognitive decline in elderly
A new study published in the medical journal Neurology suggests that impaired kidney function is a risk factor for cognitive decline in old age.
Mount Sinai researchers find phone assessment effective for evaluating cognition in the elderly
Cognitive testing by telephone in elderly individuals is generally as effective as in-person testing, according to a new study by Effie M. Mitsis, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and part of Mount Sinai's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. The study will appear in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
Infections may lead to faster memory loss in Alzheimer's disease
Getting a cold, stomach bug or other infection may lead to increased memory loss in people with Alzheimer's disease.
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