Children more vulnerable to harmful effects of lead

Federal and state regulatory standards have helped to minimize or eliminate the amount of lead in U.S. consumer products and occupational settings, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Today, the most common sources of lead exposure in the United States are lead-based paint in older homes, contaminated soil, household dust, drinking water, lead crystal and lead-glazed pottery.

While extreme lead exposure can cause a variety of neurological disorders, such as lack of muscular coordination, convulsions and coma, lower lead levels have been associated with measurable deficits in children’s mental development and behavioral problems. These include hyperactivity, or ADHD, lowered performance on intelligence tests, and deficits in fine motor function, hand-eye coordination and reaction time. Chronic lead exposure in adults can result in increased blood pressure, decreased fertility, cataracts, nerve disorders, muscle and joint pain as well as problems with memory or concentration.

The PAS meeting, sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Pediatric Society, the Society for Pediatric Research and the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, is the largest international meeting to focus on research in child health

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, one of the leading pediatric research institutions in the nation, is dedicated to changing the outcome for children throughout the world. Cincinnati Children's ranks second among all pediatric institutions in the United States in grants from the National Institutes of Health. It has an established tradition of research excellence, with discoveries including the Sabin oral polio vaccine, the surfactant preparation that saves the lives of thousands of premature infants each year, and a rotavirus vaccine that saves the lives of hundreds of thousands of infants around the world each year. Current strategic directions include the translation of basic laboratory research into the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of disease, and furthering the development of personalized and predictive medicine. Additional information can be found at www.cincinnatichildrens.org.