Panic Watch! Monkey Children, Lead, and Alzheimer's

Posted January 12, 2008 by Shakti Sombrero

Children exposed to lead in old paint, Victorian water pipes and unsafe toys could be at risk of Alzheimer's later in life, scientists have said.

Pertinent details of the study which didn't make it above the fold:

The study was performed on monkeys, not humans. But of course the headline doesn't read 'Monkey children exposed to lead at risk of Alzheimer's.'--that's definitely not as exciting.
The Alzheimer's Society has reacted to this study by saying that there is no proof that lead exposure caused the disease. This is correct. One of the scientists leading the study even told the media: "We're not saying that lead exposure causes Alzheimer's disease."
Even then, "the animals did not show any symptoms of dementia, a post mortem of their brains revealed plaques - harmful deposits of protein normally found in Alzheimer's patients." So the monkeys showed no symptoms of Alzheimer's; they merely had protein deposits that are present in many people after death--both with and without Alzheimer's.

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Jan 25 - Mar 8, 2008