MedNews

  • Drug Industry News
  • FDA News & Alerts
  • Health & Medical News
You are here: Home / Health & Medical News / General Health / Low Level Lead Exposure Leads to Chronic Renal Disease in Animal Study

Low Level Lead Exposure Leads to Chronic Renal Disease in Animal Study

October 10, 2007 By MedNews 1 Comment

While lead exposure has long been associated with hypertension, arteriolosclerosis and kidney disease, a new animal study from the University of Florida, Gainesville indicates that even low level exposure to lead accelerates chronic renal disease–primarily by raising blood pressure and accelerating injury to kidney tissues and blood vessels.

The study used male rats which were fed a standard diet. In addition, 16 of the rats were given water with lead acetate at a dosage resulting in similar or slightly lower than the levels observed in subjects with occupational lead exposure. Thereafter they underwent remnant kidney (RK) surgery and afterwards continued on the lead acetate for 12 more weeks.

A control group also underwent RK surgery but without lead acetate. At eight and 12 weeks after surgery, the body weight of all the rats was measured and systolic blood pressure was assessed. Twelve weeks after RK surgery, kidney tissue was collected for histologic and molecular biologic studies from both groups.

Study Results
Lead treatment was well tolerated and resulted in modest elevations in whole blood lead levels. However, the lead exposure reduced body weight, increased blood pressure and worsened renal dysfunction.

Specifically, lead exposure:

  • was associated with higher systolic blood pressure and worse renal function, and with a tendency for greater urinary protein; and
  • while scarring in the renal capillary system tended to be worse in lead treated rats, the most striking finding was that kidney tissue disease (arteriolar disease, peritubular capillary loss, tubulointerstitial damage and macrophage infiltration) worsened with lead exposure. These developments were associated with the significantly increased renal expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 mRNA.

According to Dr. Richard J. Johnson, the seior researcher, "This study examined the effect of mild, chronic lead intoxication in an experimental model of chronic renal disease. The dose of lead administered resulted in mild toxicity. This degree of lead poisoning was sufficient to cause higher blood pressures and accelerate the progression of renal failure."

Source: American Journal of Physiology—Renal Physiology (Online Edition)

Filed Under: General Health Tagged With: kidneys, lead exposure, renal disease



Comments

  1. dr.mukesh vora says

    January 4, 2011 at 2:04 am

    sir,
    study was good but more details are required.

    thanking you

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search



Tag Cloud

alcohol alzheimers asthma breast cancer cancer children cholesterol dementia depression Diabetes diet drug abuse exercise fda flu food genetics geriatrics h1n1 heart heart attack heart disease high blood pressure HIV/AIDS hormone therapy hypertension lungs menopause mrsa NIH obesity pain pediatrics pregnancy prostate cancer seniors sleep smoking statistics stroke sun swine flu teens USA women's health

Recent Comments

  • Mia Fritz on Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate
  • Shilpa on Why Too Much Iron Can Be Dangerous
  • Racheal on Teen Pregnancy May Be Reduced by Sex Education in Schools, Says Study
  • Don on Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid Tied to Higher Risk of Pneumonia
  • Meso on Brain Changes in Elderly Can Affect Mobility and Balance
  • About Us
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 Mednews · Log in