Lead exposure affects teenage memory

Science and techno world topic: Environment

*The metal found in the environment, is accumulating in the blood to alter the creative processes of young.

MEXICO CITY - Experts from the National Institute of Perinatology in Mexico City, claim that the lead found in the environment has a negative impact on memory processes of adolescents. 

Dr. Carmen Hernandez Chavez, a specialist at the National

Institute of Perinatology.

According to the study, teens who accumulated the highest concentration of lead in blood when they were between one and five years had difficulty with memory tasks applied. In the words of Dr. Carmen Hernandez Chavez, a specialist of the Institute, the problem could be a trigger for future complications related to their creative abilities. 

Dr. Hernández Chávez contributed to the research by studying a sample of more than 91 subjects. Half of them were exposed for a period of 10 years to environmental factors which dominated the lead. This sample was taken from the Prospective Study of Lead in Mexico City. 

He noted that members of the study were assessed continuously through neuropsychological metrics and analysis of blood samples that showed concentrations of lead in blood. 

"Adolescents were presented with a list of 12 words in three trials, then asked to repeat all the words in any order, but a tendency to repeat the same answer was noticed." 

The study results also showed that the boys showed lack of cognitive flexibility, ie, they had difficulty in introducing changes in thinking or using strategies for solving a given task. 

Finally, the researcher noted that the current Mexican Official Standard may be underestimating the damages done by lead, as they set the standard "accepted" is from zero to ten micrograms per deciliter of blood lead.