Lead poisoning has become a big threat to public health in China. Traditional treatments usually use chelators to accelerate the excretion of lead by forming complex compounds with it. However, chelators exhibit side effects and have little therapeutic effect on lead-induced impairment so that better drugs are needed. As antioxidants are effective for the treatment of lead poisoning, with lasting effect and little side effect, they have been the focus of increasing studies. This review provides a detailed account of updates on the effects of antioxidant drugs in the therapy of lead poisoning, and of the progress in antioxidant activity of puerarin, quercetin, curcumin, allicin and melatonin in treatment of lead poisoning. To some extent, these five types of drugs can reduce lead poisoning by accelerating lead excretion and antioxidant, increase the body′s antioxidant enzyme activity, reduce oxidative stress and repair damage, which promises some clinical value.

Objective:To investigate the effect of long-term partial sleep deprivation on young mice's learning and memory and explore its probable mechanism Methods:We established the long-term sleep deprivation model in young mice first After 30 days sleep deprivation, the spatial learning and memory of the mice were tested by water maze automatic control device Then the immunohistochemical staining was used to examine nNOS expression in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of right cerebral hemisphere Light microscopy and image analyzer was used to study the samples Results:Long-term sleep deprivation resulted in learning and memory impairment The mice in study group spend longer time for arriving the end than mice of control group, with much more faults in the routine of maze The immunohistochemical staining of nNOS showed that the expression in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were greatly decreased following partial sleep deprivation The area of positive and strong positive spots in prefrontal cortex of sleep deprivation group was less than that of control group, but in hippocampus only the area of strong positive spots was significantly different between the two groups Conclusions:Long-term partial sleep deprivation impairs young mice's learning and memory, and the decrease in expression of nNOS in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus maybe a mechanism inducing such impairments

Objective: To study the effect of zinc deficiency(ZD)on the gene expression of vitamin D receptor(VDR)and CaBP in duodenal mucosa of rats. Methods: Thirty weaning male rats were randomly divided into three groups:ZD,paired-fed(PF),zinc adaquate(ZA). After 15 d feeding, took the duodenal mucosa to extract RNA,and measured the levels of VDR mRNA and CaBP mRNA in duodenal mucosa by real time fluorescent quantity PCR. Results: The VDR gene expression of ZD group was downregulated 88.89% as that of PF group,and 50.00% as that of ZA group. CaBP gene expression of ZD group was downregulated 80.16% as that of the PF group,and 88.50% as that of ZA group. Conclusion: Zinc deficiency, by changing the activity of VDR and the mRNA expression of VDR,affects the transcription of the target gene CaBP,and then the absorption of calcium that causes allo-osteogenesis.

Objective To study the deficiency of serf-regulation in impulsivity children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD)based on both procedures of action and inhibitory control.The event related potentials(ERPs)component P3 in Go/NoGo tasks was analyzed.Methods There were 15 impulsive children with ADHD and15 normal children in control group.Their age was from seven years old to eleven years old.The Go/NoGo stimulate-response model was adopted in the ERPs test.The occurrence of Go and NoGo trials was equal probability(each of 50%).Results(1)The high impulsive children had slower Go-RTs(reaction times)in making correct response than normal children,tended to be faster of NoGo-RTs in making error response and had lower correct rate.(2)P3amplitudes in both control and ADHD children had the tendency of Go-P3 > NoGo-P3,especially significant at CPz and Pz in ADHD children,showed the trend of parietal central to parietal maximum and the frontal minimum,The NoGo-P3 amplitude of ADHD group was smaller especially significant at FCz and Cz,and tended to be smaller than control on left hemisphere.(3)NoGo-P3 is smaller in impulsive children with ADHD than normal children,most significant at FCz.(4)Brain maps showed that impulsive children with ADHD were lower activation significantly in the right frontal area.Conclusions The efficiency of ADHD in action is lower.The behavior regulation in impulsive children is limited.Go/NoGo-P3 reflects action processing and attention.The left parietal lobe to central area is engaged much more in action procedure and attention.This research shows the evidence of weakened parietal cortex and right frontal cortex in impulsive children with ADHD.

Objective To assess the distribution of blood lead levels and the sources of lead exposure in children with lead poisoning,and thus to offer recommendations for clinical diagnosis and treatment of childhood lead poisoning.Methods The clinical data of 129 patients with lead poisoning was collected and analyzed at the Out-patient Department of Lead Poisoning Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine during Sep.2012 and Aug.2013 were collected and analyzed.All children were required to fill out theoutpatient questionnaire on heavy metal (including children's demographic data,growth assessment,frequency of hand-mouth behavior,and the behavior of washing hands before eating,dietary,sources of lead exposure,and the family environment,etc.).Other data of medical history,physical examinations (height,weight,growth and development) were also collected.Blood samples were collected to measure blood lead level by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry.Results (1) The above 129 patients were from 14 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions),including 64 cases in Zhejiang (49.6％),30 cases in Shanghai (23.0％),13 cases in Jiangsu (10.1％),6 cases in Jiangxi (4.7％),5 cases in Hebei (3.9％),2 cases in Anhui and Guangdong (1.6％) ;and 1 case in Fujian,Henan,Hunan,Jilin,Inner Mongolia,Heilongjiang and Shandong (0.8％),respectively.(2) In the patients,the blood lead level was 17.0-892.0 μg/L[(251.5 ±155.8) μg/L] and the median was 235.0 μg/L.(3)The mean age of the children was 4.3 years.Fifteen cases were less than 1 year old,and the mean blood lead level was (367.8 ± 137.7) μg/L.Thirty-seven cases were 1-3 years old children,and the mean blood lead level was (250.5 ± 116.3) μg/L.Fifty cases were 3-6 years old children,and the mean blood lead level was (237.7 ± 179.7) μg/L.Twenty-seven cases were over 6 years old,and the mean blood lead level was (213.9 ± 141.8) μg/L.(4) One hundred and eleven cases of the children could find the definite sources of lead exposure,mainly from industrial pollution (35.7％) and domestic pollution (64.3％).The blood lead levels in 18 cases were less than 100 μg/L,and their definite lead pollution source was not found.(5) Most of the children had the symptoms of inattention,hyperactivity,aggressive behavior,constipation and abdominal pain,and so on.(6)Logistic regression analysis of children with blood lead levels ≥ 235.0 μg/L showed that lead pollutants and age were the main risk factors for lead poisoning.Conclusions Industrial pollution are associated with higher blood lead levels among children aged 0-6 years old (occupying one-third of the pollutants).The younger children tend to have higher blood lead levels,and the data also suggest that greater attention should be paid to children who used red powder.

Objective The effect of lead exposure on children is consistently associated with intellectual and other neurologic deficits.However the exact mechanism by which Pb~(2+) exerts toxic effects on developmental central nervous system remains unknown.Our group has found by gene-chip test that the expression of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGluR5) mRNA was changed by lead exposure.The present study aimed to examine the effects of different level of lead exposure on the expression of mCluR5 in gestation and lactation.Methods Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to lead acetate during gestation and lactation.Three concentrations of 0.05%,0.2%,and 0.5% lead acetate were applied and considered as low,middle and high exposure group respectively.The Pb levels of blood and hippocampus of pups were analyzed at weaning to evaluate the actual lead content at the end of the exposure.The impact of lead exposure on the expression of mGluR5 mRNA and protein in hippocampal tissue of pups was investigated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot.The potential role of the expression of mGluR5 mRNA and protein in lead neurotoxicity were discussed.Results The levels of lead in blood and hippocampus from lead-exposed rats were significantly higher than those in the controls and positively related to the degree of lead exposure.The results of real-time PCR and Western blot showed that exposure to lead acetate decreased the expression of mCluR5 mRNA and protein with a dose-dependent manner.Conclusions Hippocampal mGluR5 might be involved in lead-induced neurotoxicity.

Objective: To investigate the effect of lead exposure before pregnancy on bone lead mobilization and bone microstructure in pregnant rats, so as to provide the evidence for illustrating the potential mechanisms of bone lead mobilization during pregnancy. Methods: Twenty-six weaning female specific pathogen-free (SPF) rats of the Wistar strain were randomly divided into the exposure group and the control group. Rats in the exposure group were given 0.05% lead acetate solution for weeks, while animals in the control group were given 0.05% sodium acetate solution. Then, rats in both groups were given distilled water. Following removal of lead exposure for 4 weeks, female rats were co-caged with healthy males at the same age until pregnancy. The blood, femur and tibia specimens were collected from female rats on days 3 (GD3), 10 (GD10) and 17 (GD17) at pregnancy, and the blood and bone lead levels were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The unilateral rat femur was scanned using micro-computed tomography (micro CT), and the microstructure changes of cortical and trabecular bones were investigated. The structural and morphological changes of rat femur were observed using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. Results: During the study period, satisfactory mental status and activity and good coat glossiness were observed in female rats in both groups, and there was no significant difference in the increase of rat body weight between groups. The blood lead level at GD17 and bone lead levels at GD3, GD10 and GD17 were significantly higher in rats in the exposure group than in the control group (P<0.05), and the trabecular bone lead level was significantly lower in rats in the exposure group at GD17 than at GD10 (P=0.015). The trabecular bone lead level correlated negatively with blood lead level (r=-0.578, P=0.049), and bone lead contributed 26.8% to blood lead. The bone mass, trabecular number, thickness and density of female rat trabecular bones all reduced in the exposure group at GD17, with an increase in trabecular space, and the proportion of trabecular areas reduced by 27.34% in the exposure group relative to the control group (t=2.851, P=0.046). Conclusions Lead exposure before pregnancy promotes the release of lead from trabecular bones into blood and affects bone microstructure in rats. There is bone lead mobilization during late pregnancy.

Objectives To explore the efficacy of CaNa2EDTA in the treatment of chronic moderate lead poisoning, so as to optimize the chelation therapy for lead poisoning in children. Methods The clinical data of 14 patients with chronic moderate lead poisoning treated with CaNa2EDTA for 3 consecutive courses of lead removal during September 2014 to December 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. Twenty-four hour urinary lead levels during hospitalization were analyzed. The changes of blood lead levels before treatment, 3 days, and 5 days after treatment were also analyzed. Results In the 14 children (4 males and 10 females) average age was 2.35±1.47 years. After treatment with CaNa2EDTA for 3 consecutive courses, the blood lead levels were decreased significantly in all the patients, and the blood lead levels at 3 days after treatment were 0.76, 0.77, 0.72 times those at 5 days after treatment respectively. The decrease of blood lead levels per unit of drug in the first 3 days of treatment were significantly higher than those in 5 days of treatment (P<0.05). The decrease of blood lead levels at 3 days after treatment was 0.65, 0.71, 0.70 times , those in 5 days' treatment respectively. The decrease of urine lead levels per unit of drug in the first 3 days of treatment were significantly higher than those in 5 days of treatment (P<0.05). Conclusions CaNa2EDTA has an obvious effect on removal of lead.The efficiency of lead removal in 3 days of treatment was higher than in 5 days of treatment. Thus, a course of treatment for 3 days may be an altenative for a course of 5 days.

Objective To investigate the inhibitory effect of Allicin on the apoptosis of hippocampal neurons induced by lead in rats.Methods Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 3 weeks were randomly divided into 6 groups,10 rats in each group,which were low dose group(A-L),medium-dose group(A-M) and high dose (A-H) Allicin group and lead exposure group (Pb group),dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) group and blank control group.The blank control group animals were treated with ultrapure water,and the other 5 groups received 1.0 g/L lead acetate aqueous solution instead of ultrapure water after 20 days and they were treated them with compounds by oral gavage.The doses of Allicin in group A-L,A-M group and A-H group were 2.7 mg/kg and 5.4 mg/kg,and 10.8 mg/kg,respectively.The DMSA dose was 10.8 mg/kg,and the Pb group was given 9 g/L saline.After the model was established,the rats were sacrificed to collect whole blood and hippocampus.Blood lead and tissue lead concentrations were measured,and the level of apoptosis in hippocampus was observed by TUNEL staining.The levels of cysteine-containing aspartate-specific proteases (caspase)-3,caspase-9,poly adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase (PARP) mRNA and caspase-3,caspase-9,PARP activated protein and cytochromes C distribution in the hippocampus cells were detected by using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR),Western blot,and immunofluorescence staining.Results (1) Lead levels in the blood lead and hippocampus of rats in A-L group,A-M group and A-H group [(190.54±11.33) μg/L,(0.28 ±0.03) μg/L;(159.55 ±16.94) μg/L,(0.22 ±0.06) μg/L;(l16.62 ±8.85) μg/L,(0.19 ±0.01) μg/L] were lower than those in Pb group [(271.34 ±21.23) μg/L,(0.31 ±0.04) μg/L],and there were significant differences (all P ＜ 0.05).The blood lead and hippocampal lead levels in the DMSA group [(50.12 ± 7.44) μg/L,(0.15 ± 0.03) μg/L] were lower than those in the A-L group,A-M group and A-H group.(2) The results of TUNEL staining showed that the apoptosis levels of hippocampus in A-L group,A-M group and A-H group were lower than that in Pb group [(2.81 ±0.17)％,(2.08 ±0.28)％,(1.33 ±0.08)％ vs.(4.23 ±0.17)％],and there were significant differences (all P ＜ 0.05);the apoptosis level of hippocampus in the DMSA group [(2.63 ± 0.32) ％] was higher than that in the A-M group and the A-H group,which was lower than that in the Pb group.(3) qPCR results showed that the levels of caspase-3,caspase-9 and PARP mRNA in A-H group were down-regulated compared with Pb group (1.07 ± 0.05,1.02 ± 0.02,1.11 ± 0.02 vs.1.34 ± 0.02,1.26 ±0.05,1.93 ± 0.07).The differences were statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05).The expression levels of caspase-3 and PARP mRNA in A-L group and A-M group were down-regulated (1.21 ± 0.05,1.43 ± 0.12,1.16 ± 0.02,1.20 ± 0.06 vs.1.34 ± 0.02,1.93 ± 0.07),and there were significant differences (all P ＜ 0.05),and there was no significant change in caspase-9 mRNA;the mRNA levels of caspase-3,caspase-9 and PARP in A-H group (1.07 ± 0.05,1.02 ± 0.02,1.11 ± 0.02) were lower than those in DMSA group (1.14 ± 0.02,1.15 ± 0.08,1.32 ±0.05).(4) Western blot results:compared with Pb group,the expression levels of activated caspase-3,caspase-9 and PARP protein in A-H group were down-regulated (A-H group:0.44 ± 0.15,0.58 ± 0.25 and 0.31 ±0.19,0.23 ±0.07 vs.Pb group:0.69 ±0.13,0.72 ±0.22 and 0.55 ±0.21,0.43 ±0.10),the expression of activated caspase-9 protein in A-M group was lower than that in Pb group (A-M group:0.59 ±0.18 vs.Pb group:0.72 ± 0.22),and there were significant differences (all P ＜ 0.05);the expression of activated caspase-3 and RARP protein in A-H group was lower than that in DMSA group.(5) Fluorescence staining showed that the expression of cytochrome C in cytoplasm of A-L group,A-M group and A-H group were significantly lower than that of Pb group and DMSA group.Conclusion Allicin can inhibit the apoptosis of hippocampus cells in rats with lead poisoning through mitochondrial pathway.The effect of Allicin on apoptosis inhibition may be better than DMSA.

OBJECTIVETo describe trends of changes in blood lead levels in children aged 1 - 6 years during the time period before and after introducing lead free gasoline in Shanghai 1997 and 1999.

METHODSBlood lead levels of 1 969 children aged 1 - 6 years were determined by a sampling survey in five districts of Shanghai in August and September, 1997. Blood lead levels of the same population were re-determined by the same method from April to June in 1998 and from August to September in 1999. Filter paper blood lead test was carried out monthly using the filter paper blood lead proficiency testing program of Centers for Disease Control in the United States. The results from blood lead samples were under acceptable ranges during the study.

RESULTSThe geometric means of blood lead levels were 83 microgram/L in 1997, 80 microgram/L in 1998 and 76 microgram/L in 1999, respectively. The prevalence rates of childhood lead poisoning (blood lead level was equal or more than 100 microgram/L) were 37.8% in 1997, 25.7% in 1998 and 24.8% in 1999. The amounts of decrease on average blood lead levels in the five districts between 1997 and 1999 were 10 microgram/L, 11 microgram/L, 6 microgram/L, 4 microgram/L and 2 microgram/L, respectively.

CONCLUSIONLead poisoning is a preventable disease. The average levels of lead in young children in Shanghai decreased significantly after the introduction of lead free gasoline to Shanghai. Lead emissions from vehicles running on leaded gasoline was one of the important contributors to increase the children's blood lead levels in Shanghai. Lead poisoning is not evenly distributed among children in Shanghai, resulting in the different levels of decline.

Child, Preschool ; China ; Environmental Monitoring ; methods ; standards ; Environmental Pollutants ; blood ; Gasoline ; standards ; Humans ; Lead ; blood ; Time Factors