Lead: lead toxicity

See also: saturnism - lead poisoning

Lead has both natural and industrial origins; in the past it was used as a metal alloy for pipes, pots and various kitchen utensils. In addition, lead is used in paints, batteries and as an additive in gasoline.
Our body can come into contact with lead through the skin, the oral and respiratory routes. Children are more exposed to possible intoxication because absorption is much higher than in adults.

Lead can cross both the blood brain barrier and the placenta, so much attention should be paid to pregnant women. This metal is deposited at the bone level, at the level of the CNS (cortex, cerebellum) and at the level of the blood stream.

In the blood, lead causes an anemic form, because it compromises the formation of hemoglobin.

It is eliminated from our body through the urine and faeces.
Lead, in addition to the binding with the -SH groups of proteins, must replace Ca2 + in all the biological functions to which it is responsible. This mineral, for example, is essential for enzymatic processes, for muscle contraction and finally for neurotransmission processes.
The most likely intoxication is chronic, because it is very difficult to come into contact with quantities of lead so large as to cause acute toxicity. In chronic intoxication, the central nervous system is the most affected (saturnine encephalopathy), but renal, gastrointestinal, hematopoietic and reproductive systems (both male and female).

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