PubMed · 89831
Chronic lead intoxication: effects on developing optic nerve.
Abstract
The effects of chronic lead intoxication were studied by examining the optic nerve of mice given lead-containing mother's milk from day 1 to day 21 of life. Biochemical assays for myelin basic protein, 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide phosphodieterase, and cerebroside sulfotransferase showed that the total amount of myelin produced by the lead-exposed animals was decreased. Lead exposure did not alter the number of oligodendroglia or the relationship between axons and myelin sheaths. The hypomyelination was paralleled by a reduction in size of optic axons in the lead-exposed animals. The data suggest that chronic exposure to lead in developing mice results in a primary effect on neurons and that hypomyelination is secondary to reduction in axon size.
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G Tennekoon, C S Aitchison, J Frangia, D L Price, A M Goldberg. 1979. Chronic lead intoxication: effects on developing optic nerve.. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.410050611
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