Functional Neurotoxic Effects of Heavy Metal Combinations Given to Rats during Pre- and Postnatal Development

Anita Lukács and Andrea Szabó

Department of Public Health, University of Szeged Faculty of Medicine, Szeged, Hungary

Corresponding author: Anita Lukács
    Department of Public Health, University of Szeged Faculty of Medicine
    Dóm tér 10
    H-6720 Szeged, Hungary
    Telephone: +36-62-545-119
    Fax number: +36-62-545-12
    E-mail: lukacsa@puhe.szote.u-szeged.hu

CEJOEM 2007, Vol.13. No.3-4.: 299-309

Key words:
lead, mercury, cadmium, manganese, neurotoxicity, development, maternal exposure

Abstract:
Lead (80 and 320 mg/kg; all doses given for pure metal), mercury (0.4 and 1.6 mg/kg), cadmium (3.5 and 14.0 mg/kg) and manganese (3.6 and 14.5 mg/kg) were given by gavage in low and high dose lead-mercury-cadmium (PbHgCd) and mercury-cadmium-manganese (HgCdMn) combinations; during pregnancy (P protocol), or pregnancy and lactation (PL) to Wistar rat dams, or for 8 weeks to the male offspring of the dams treated during pregnancy plus lactation (PLP). Controls received distilled water. From the 12 weeks old male offspring, spontaneous and evoked activity of the somatosensory, visual and auditory cortex, and compound action potential from the tail nerve was recorded. In the spontaneous activity, high dose PbHgCd caused increase in the slow, and decrease in the fast bands, most pronounced in the rats treated both pre- and postnatally. The onset latency of cortical evoked responses increased with both combinations and in all protocols. The conduction velocity of the tail nerve decreased in the PL and PLP protocol. The results emphasize the need for better protection of potentially exposed humans, and indicate that functional biomarkers, developed on the basis of electrophysiological effects, may gain application in this field.

Received: 22 February 2008
Accepted: 5 July 2008

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