Toxicology of Lead 1
v Lead disrupts the main structural components of the
blood-brain barrier by primary injury to astrocytes
with a secondary damage to the endothelial
microvasculature. Within the brain, lead-induced
damage occurs preferentially in the prefrontal
cerebral cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum. Some
characteristic clinical features of lead poisoning may
be attributed to this specific anatomical pattern.
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