Ambient Lead Linked to Alzheimer’s
Even exposure to very low levels of ambient lead appears to increase the risk for conversion from amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), new research suggests.
Using data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), investigators found that patients with aMCI who converted to AD had significantly greater ambient lead exposure than did nonconverters.
Further analysis showed that lead exposure also significantly predicted atrophy of the hippocampus, as well as entorhinal cortex atrophy and thickness reduction.
“We know about studies showing adverse effects from lead in children. So I wasn’t that surprised by our findings,” lead author Linda Mah, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and a clinician scientist at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest, a hospital in Toronto, told Medscape Medical News.
“However, I was surprised that the average amount of ambient lead exposure did predict size of hippocampal volume at follow-up. Those findings were not robust, but they were significant,” added Dr. Mah.
The results were presented here at the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) 2014 Annual Meeting.
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