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Updated: Jun 11, 2025
Long-term Behavioral and Reproductive Consequences of Embryonic Exposure to Low-dose Toxicants
Published on: March 6, 2018
Prenatal and early life lead exposure induced neurotoxicity
Aluru Parithathvi1, Neha Choudhari2, Herman S Dsouza1
1Department of Radiation Biology and Toxicology, Manipal School of Life Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India.
Insights
Prenatal lead exposure harms developing brains, impacting cognition and behavior. There is no safe lead exposure level for children, posing risks for neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Toxicology
Background:
- Lead (Pb) is a pervasive environmental contaminant with significant public health implications.
- Exposure can occur through various pathways, leading to toxic effects on human health.
- Prenatal and early-life stages are particularly vulnerable to lead's detrimental impacts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the effects of lead toxicity on neurodevelopment during prenatal and early life.
- To elucidate the mechanisms of lead-induced neurotoxicity, focusing on calcium ion (Ca2+) regulation.
- To discuss the long-term consequences of early lead exposure, including neurodegenerative diseases.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on lead exposure and neurodevelopment.
- Analysis of mechanisms underlying lead's impact on neural stem cells and glial cells.
- Examination of epidemiological data linking early lead exposure to later-life neurological outcomes.
Main Results:
- Lead exposure targets fetal neural stem cells, impairing neural and glial cell development.
- Lead disrupts calcium ion (Ca2+) homeostasis, a key mechanism in neurodevelopmental toxicity.
- No safe threshold for lead exposure in children has been established, with documented effects on cognition and behavior.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal and early-life lead exposure poses significant risks to neurodevelopment, affecting cognitive and behavioral outcomes.
- Lead exposure is linked to an increased risk of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases later in life.
- Understanding lead's impact during pregnancy, lactation, and early childhood is crucial for mitigating long-term neurological damage.
Abstract:
Lead (Pb) has become a major environmental contaminant. There are several ways in which lead can enter the human body and cause toxic effects on human health. This review focuses on the impact of lead toxicity at prenatal and early life stages and its effect on neurodevelopment. Lead exposure to the developing foetus targets foetal neural stem cells. Hence, it has detrimental effects on developing neural and glial cells, adversely influencing cognition and behaviour. Lead has a profound influence on the movement of calcium ions (Ca2+), which can be attributed to most of the mechanisms by which lead affects neurodevelopment. There is no known safe threshold of lead exposure for children. Lead can affect foetal neurodevelopment leading to various neurological disorders, and neurotoxic effects on behavioural and cognitive outcomes. In this review, we discuss prenatal and early-life lead exposure, its mechanism, and consequences for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease in later stages of life. This review further highlights the importance of lead exposure during pregnancy and lactation periods as well as early development of the child in understanding the extent of lead-induced neurological damage to the foetus/children and the associated future risks.
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