What Does Lead Poisoning Do To Your Brain?
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- Опубліковано 26 січ 2025
- How does lead damage our brains-and what can we do to stop it?
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Dysregulation of BDNF-TrkB Signaling in Developing Hippocampal Neurons by Pb2þ: Implications for an Environmental Basis of Neurodevelopmental Disorders:
www.ncbi.nlm.n...
CDC on Lead Poisoning:
www.cdc.gov/nc...
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Host, Writer, Animator, Editor
Anna Rothschild
Camera, Sound
Ana Aceves
Culture Shock
Music Provided by APM
Special Thanks to:
Dr. Tomás Guilarte, Dean of Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work at Florida International University
Dr. Patric K. Stanton, New York Medical College
FOOTAGE AND STILLS
Original Footage and Stills
©WGBH Educational Foundation 2017
Footage of brain cells with and without BDNF
Courtesy Dr. Tomás Guilarte
Neuronsfiring-loop
Pond5/kitchendon
Lead electrolytic and 1cm3 cube
Wikimedia Commons/Alchemist-hp
Lead Pipe - Bath Roman Baths
Wikimedia commons/Andrew Dunn
LeadPaint1
Wikimedia Commons/Thester11
Peinture Plomb écailles 3
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PSM V01 D357 Human encelphalon
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Skelett-Mensch-drawing
Wikimedia Commons/Hubert Ludwig
31 Weeks Pregnant
Flickr/Jerry Lai
New baby
Flickr/Jeremy Tarling
SFX
Cockroaches
Freesound/StateAardvark
(used with permission from author)
Squeak Pack/squeak_10
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Bubbles Popping
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Produced by WGBH for PBS Digital Studios
I was always the slowest in my class academically due to lead poisoning, which followed me into employment. It's been a nightmare!
Thank you for posting this video. I had lead poisoning when I was 14, living in a house that was well over 150 years old. The landlord removed the paint from the walls himself, but never cleaned the chips off the floor before laying the carpet in my bedroom down, so it turned to dust and I ended up inhaling it. From what the doctor told me, it was stored in my fat cells for months and allowed to accumulate. I didn't know I was even that toxic until I lost 12 pounds in a week. We all know lead is bad, but I haven't found anything about permanent issues regarding lead poisoning until now. I still have problems with running into things, as well as pushing the wrong button on my registers at work or other machines and computers elsewhere. I never had that issue before my poisoning, just after. To top it all off, it was even more excruciating than childbirth, and I gave birth naturally, twice, one front labor, one back labor. (I still joke around about how labor paled in comparison)
I really like the idea of expanding the definition of gross to anything grim or dangerous, along with the usual insects, molds, parasites and fecal matter we expect.
Great! I have been wanting to expand the show in that way, so I'm glad you approve!!!
Gross Science Isn't this just a rip-off of other science channels, Like Deep Look, Discovery, ASAP science and etc. but when you really think about it, Its just rip off of rip offs of rip offs.
***** What do you disagree with? Aren't all science channels like this extremtly similar to each other, Just using slightly different topics?
Well, a rip-off has certain negative connotations associated it such as inferrier quality, misinformation, copied or paraphased wording from other people (on purpose), etc.
Nah.
My grandfather worked for dutch boy lead paint. He died suddenly in his 40s
I live in a house built in 1942 and paint, and repainted for years while lead was still widely used. Most of the houses in my city were built between 1880-1980, with a much smaller number being built within the last 40 years. Newer houses are built in the more rural areas. Dealing with those houses is a HUGE issue and most see it as a risk they don't want to take. So, they just abandon the house and move away, leaving tens of thousands of homes empty. For the houses, like mine, that people want to take care of, I have to constantly think about the fact that the last time I went through my house with a lead test kit, lead is EVERYWHERE. Paint chips on my bathroom sealing. The woman at the paint store said to just sand it down and repaint. Uh, I don't think so. I ended up putting a thin piece of wallboard over it. But, I am still trying to figure out what to do about other areas of the house. Anything from hanging a picture to opening a window have the potential to cause lead exposure. Very sad.
one guy in Flint, Michigan has lost the ability to control his body temperature due to heavy metal poisoning. Still can't believe that they cannot yet drink or even bathe in their own water 3 years later.
I wish I had you as my science teacher in school. Mine was horrible, and as a result my grades were poor. I have ADHD so getting interested in something has to come from someone interested in the subject and be enthusiastic like you. I love science now thanks to people like you, but only as a side hobby maybe one day I will pursue some kind of job to do with Science but feels like that ship has sailed. Thank you so much for all these videos and amazing things I never knew about :)
You have totally made my day. I'm so glad you appreciate and learn from my videos-this is exactly why I do what I do! Please let me know if you ever have a question I can answer on the show. Thanks for watching!
ADHD is another symptom of lead poisoning. Stay away from fishing weights, bullets, and small regional airports and it will get better! (small planes STILL use leaded fuel!)
0:15 They didn't add lead to paint because it's soft and malleable. They added lead to paint because it makes a very nearly perfect white, and you want that, not just for white stuff, but also because a white base makes creating other colors easier;.
I felt like this episode was somewhat different than what you normally do, but it is still nonetheless very informative and interesting. :) Loved it!
Thank you! I'd love to do more episodes like this in the future.
ah u finally got grossed out!
Gross Science Is lead still found in pencils?
GamerKat64 not anymore, they use graphite now
GamerKat64 no
we should sue every single politician who has neglected infrastructure
you always make complicated science seem simple. Love that
Thank you!
I got lead poisoning when I was little and I use to have seizures.
There is a fascinating theory that the sharp rise in violent street crime in the 20th century was the result of behavioral changes caused by leaded gasoline (taking into account a 20-year lag for the effects to work). Crime rates worldwide started to drop about 25 years after leaded gasoline was phased out.
My father used the term zombie to describe the brain issues when getting a teaching transfer
Im a 50 yr old male , my doctor checked my BLL because he had suck a hard time getting my blood pressure under control ..... My BLL is 56.9 .,anything above .5 is considered toxic . My mind has turned to crap my memory is horrifiy . Im starting chelation therapy today , hopefully it helps
Did chelation therapy improve your brain health? Do you feel sharper?
Bad pun incoming: I believe that we have been mislead! ;-)
ayyyyy
TheCimbrianBull boi
OH
Misled not mislead.
@@nebulouscat5477 🐈
More on lead please!!. This is very interesting especially for us chemistry student.
Safe drinking water is not a luxury but it is a necessity, the fact that Flint has had lead in their water for 3 years now is unacceptable. Sorry, that was a bit of a random rant.
you "lead"me straight into a doctors office just to check my body if i have lead in my body
4:46 lead is in the air, the soil, the rain water, the sea and our blood where I come from so not that big of a deal, have you ever seen Gray seafoam from it's lead content? If not come on down to Port Pirie see it for yourself
It's a tricky one in Port Pirie you can reduce the lead by killing the smelters but you will also kill the livelihood of the town, so what is the answer?
Are there any stories on Gillman Colorado? Seems like there must be some interesting stories there. Thank You for your info about lead poisoning.
Interesting! I read in an article the other day that our bodies mistake lead for calcium. Is that accurate? In this video, it seems like lead just gets in calcium's way.
Both are true! So, lead does "replace" or "compete with" calcium in certain parts of our bodies. That's why it gets taken up by our bones. And that's also what happens when it blocks the chemical signals/messages I mention from being sent. But when it blocks BDNF it's actually not replacing calcium at all. In fact, it's mimicking something else (zinc I think?) that makes up part of one of those "keys" that open the calcium channel. So, in that case it's really just jamming the "lock" and keeping calcium from getting into the cell. Great question!
Oh, wow! Man, that lead is quite sinister.
Thanks for the response, and for a great video!
hmm, i wonder if its possible for BDNF to be used in people who have had strokes, to help them create stronger connections? what do you think?
Interesting idea! None of the scientists I spoke with mentioned it, but this is still super new research.
I have lead poisoning, as it stand I had the highest level of lead poisoning in my area when I was younger.
Lead is a chemical element with symbol Pb (from the Latin plumbum) and atomic number 82.
It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials.
Lead is soft and malleable, and has a relatively low melting point.
When freshly cut, lead is bluish-white; it tarnishes to a dull gray color when exposed to air.
Lead has the highest atomic number of any stable element and concludes three major decay chains of heavier elements.
Lead is a relatively unreactive post-transition metal.
Its weak metallic character is illustrated by its amphoteric nature; lead and lead oxides react with acids and bases, and it tends to form covalent bonds.
Compounds of lead are usually found in the +2 oxidation state rather than the +4 state common with lighter members of the carbon group.
Exceptions are mostly limited to organolead compounds.
Like the lighter members of the group, lead tends to bond with itself; it can form chains, rings and polyhedral structures.
Lead is easily extracted from its ores; prehistoric people in Western Asia knew of it.
Galena, a principal ore of lead, often bears silver, interest in which helped initiate widespread extraction and use of lead in ancient Rome.
Lead production declined after the fall of Rome and did not reach comparable levels until the Industrial Revolution.
In 2014, annual global production of lead was about ten million tonnes, over half of which was from recycling.
Lead's high density, low melting point, ductility and relative inertness to oxidation make it useful.
These properties, combined with its relative abundance and low cost, resulted in its extensive use in construction, plumbing, batteries, bullets and shot, weights, solders, pewters, fusible alloys, white paints, leaded gasoline, and radiation shielding.
In the late 19th century, lead's toxicity was recognized, and its use has since been phased out of many applications.
Lead is a neurotoxin that accumulates in soft tissues and bones, damages the nervous system, and causes blood disorders.
It is particularly problematic in children: even if blood levels are promptly normalized with treatment, permanent brain damage may result.
Crazy history since 3000 B.C.
It's important to know that lead in high quantities is still used in aviation gasoline (so-called "LowLead-100") which is much higher in lead than automobile gasoline was in the 1980's!
So it's better start to look for alternative sources for the engine.
Is there a test to know if your taps have contaminated lead? I'm curious because my friends and I are complaining about headaches and memory problems.
Also, does water softeners remove lead? or just iron?
blood test for lead can be done
What about adults, My husband and I have been recently tested for heavy metals, and discovered we are over the top with lead ! vintage dishes were the cu;print, We have Chronic insomnia and I have been plaques with headaches and memory fog & loss. something I never use to have.Will chelation therapy for the lead actually get rid of it. And I have watched several video’s no one talks about vintage and even new glass products. Just for your info. Please let me know if the chelation works, Many thanks for a great job !
You could've added a pic of the damaged gums with ulceration that some of the lead poisoning victims develop and then add your iconic: "ew" or smth of a sort. That way you get gross without compromising the ... how would I put it... "serious" theme of the video :)
Love it btw! Excellent work.
Politicians used to deny the studies that lead was poisonous in America even when Europe had it banned for decades, America was still making documentaries about how you shouldn't listen to those scientists.
oh o my house is a old house and I t tested positive for lead in the paint. the paint is cracked and chipping off but none of my family are worried because they are uneducated enough to know the effects of lead. when I told them they didn't care. I don't know what to do
can people with lead posioning affect fertility and moreover can people have syndromes that give them unusual lead levels?
Hi Anna! I loved hearing you talk about parasites on Friday night, and this morning your lead poisoning video popped up in my facebook feed via Neuroscience News and Research (yes, my facebook feed is kinda nerdy), so I popped over and now I've subscribed! Looking forward to seeing more!
I love your channel and really appreciate this video. I would enjoy seeing more stuff like this that's "gross" in a more sinister sense in the future!
You got it! Thanks so much!
Not sure if this is related, but from inhaling lead fumes (not intentionally) while soldering I think form this I got appendicitis which I had to have an operation on. Not sure what else it could of been from. Always use a mask and be in a well ventilated place, use a fan too 😉
I love that you always get more detailed with your videos!
Keep going!! :)
Thank you, Yannick!
Is there a way to remove lead from the body?
my comment will elay your fears
maybe activated charcoal
Gedora using CaEDTA soon after it has occured
Gedora Dank Memes.
Alas, CaEDTA does not reverse the subtle brain effects. However, very stimulating environments and excellent nutrition does appear to have an effect, according to Dr. Guilarte, who provided some of the cool footage of BDNF reversal of lead effects. So while we work for elimination of fetal, infant and childhood lead exposure and wait for the BDNF treatment :D how about we provide the optimal environments and nutrition that affected children need?
I think me and a lot of my friends may have been exposed to lead. We live in Albany ny and there's lead everywhere. Can we take nutritional supplements or any other medications to help our brains recover?
dam those guys on the Terror and Erebus had to deal with lead poisoning
That explains the lady in the movie Patriot, where she mistook the sabotage of a ship for fireworks...
She's already lost her marbles at the point, as the actress depicted her as a shaking, addled victim of Georgian fashion, which claimed the lives of many upperclass women.
This is some f-ing, darkly disturbing but frankly interesting stuff.😳👍🏻
Can you do a video on food poisoning (e.g. salmonella, e.coli, etc..) and how it quickly moves through the body? I was discussing this with my sisters, wondering how bacteria moves so quickly through the body which results in instant diarrhea/vomiting.
UA-cam has blocked this video in the high school computers on student terminals for being inappropriate! I don't know why. Is it the name "gross?"
Because it teaches students how to poison people perhaps?
Lead doesn’t bother me as much as it should I guess. I’ve been soldering for years with no fume extractors, holding lead solder in my mouth, melting and casting lead without respirators, etc. I know I should be more careful but it’s like I don’t care?
It's a silent killer so you'll die eventually
Lived near flint MI for a few years and got lead poisoning. It sucks. Never live in MI.
Currently watching this in a house that I had to sign waivers for lead paint and asbestos, nervously laughing
(they said it's fine as long as there aren't holes in the wall or outer layer of paint)
Great video!! 👍 I have a question about "naturally occurring" lead. I started doing my own research after buying Earth Paste toothpaste, and reading on the label there was naturally occurring lead in the toothpaste. I read on the web that there can be naturally occurring lead in some vegetables too. I was wondering your opinion on this and if lead is really safe to ingest if it's in small amounts? Thanks!!
Lead was used as plumbing by the Romans, hence the term "Plumbum." They also made cups, plates and other utensils from lead. It made their drinking water taste sweeter, but its consequences go far as contributing to the decline of the whole empire.
I live in Pittsburgh. Not only do we have old houses, paint, and plumbing, but even though the city is far cleaner now, there is quite a lot of pollution locked in the soil from the dirty industrial past. Thankfully pediatricians have picked up on that, and at least with my kids, their pediatrician tested their blood lead levels even after we moved from our 1950's built house to a new home. (They're all good! However, that said, the number wasn't zero. Safe levels, but not zero.)
Does lead poisoning make you think you are being stalked by a mythical polar bear?
Bruh 💀
I'm here after watching the video of the man who deliberately poisoned his wife with lead
What about dementia in older adults and lead?
I am an airgun shooter for fun and use lead pellets. Their medium weight is 0,5 grams. I shoot about every 3 days, and shoot 20 to 100 rounds. I pick up every pellet bare hand and load the gun, then when I stop shooting I handle the remaining pellets in the tin to count them. After this procedure, I accurately wash my hands. Could this cause poisoning due to direct contact of lead on skin? or you refer to lead poisoning due to lead particles breathing? in this case, should I use a dust mask? please answer, pellet guns are sooooo common and this is a question I am quite sure a lot of people want to know the answer to avoid lead danger. Many thanks! best from NEItaly
I love your vids so much and love all the passion you put into them it makes them so much more refreshing.
Good job, Anna. Poo and snot are gross and fun to talk about, but this certainly is gross, too. Well done, as always.
They knew that it would harm us. That's why it was used
You published this today! so cool!
Do people with lead poisoning have symptoms?
Chiranjeevi kandi yes not all do
When it gets blocked by the lead whr does the calcium go then..I fig that would hurt the brain 🧠 also
Is BDNF supplementation available?
Of so, is it safe? (Would it dial down endogenous production?)
Hi Anna, are you going to do a video about mercury poisoning?
A few people have asked me about this. Guess I should!
I've had lead poisoning for years since I was born
is it curable because just today the doctor said my baby sister (8 months) has some of the lead stuff in her blood but only a small amount so it’s not too bad (I have doubts) It’s probably from always putting things in her mouth in the house but do you think she is going to be okay I know you’re not a doctor but I want to here from someone who actually had this
If I remember correctly the families of flint still don't have clean water
I'm new to watching your videos, excellent job. Very educational, look forward to seeing more.
Thanks, Shawn!
My 8 year old autistic son has had lead poisoning for the last 6-7 years but the recent results are very high needing chelation.
However, I am.not convinced that DMSA without supplementation at 800 mg daily input will benefit... I think it will harm.him.more
Has snyone had experience with lead chelation
Thanks for your answers
Does anyone else think that sitting in the back seat of a 60's or 70's station wagon inhaling leaded fuel fumes explains my generation (43) and their children?
You should look up the correlation between the effects of leaded gas, it's replacement and the rates of violent crime.
Future Marine I did The same.....
As a child, I rode in the back of a Chevy station wagon while my family moved from Calif to Texas right after Kennedy was killed. I was "car-sick" all the way with nausea, dizziness, headaches. I wonder what brain damage resulted from that! I wonder if that is the cause of my AD/HD. depression, memory issues...
Yes, I fully believe that lead poisoning is a HUGE issue in USA!
How can I get it out of my brain?
What taste did u have to find out
@Gross Science im a teen in the rifle team at my school and our pellets are made of lead...we have safety precautions after we shoot with the lead by washing our hands with cold water. Do i still need to worry about it?
Daniel Acedilla yes you can breath the lead particles in. I suggest you do your own research on it using Google or something else.
Hey just a question
Do pencils have lead in them???
I’ve been working with lead wheel weights and batteries at an auto repair shop for about a year now, am I in danger?
I got an ad for your channel while watching your video.
how come there is lead in fuel then, and we use sodder in electronics?
Very informative, tackling gross on a synaptic scale. ^.^
Love your videos! :)
Thanks for watching!
Can LED cause aggressiveness in a 18 month old?
Scott Pruitt lives in Oklahoma just South of the move lead polluted site in the USA. Maybe that explains his behavior. By the way, Scott Pruitt was, of course on the wrong side when it came to the lead pollution at that site in Oklahoma.
Lol the neuron part reminded me of Michelanelo's "The Creation of Adam".
Neat vid. I never knew the reason for the seriousness of lead. Hopefully it's not an ingredient in the old paint on my walls...
I think i fucked up my brain as a kid ingesting lead from pencils. Went from honor student to now hardly remembering my childhood and I'm only in my 20s. Idk why but i randomly started occasionally chewing the lead on pencils when the tip kept falling off :(
in a middle school newer to your channel and I love how grossly informative 😝
this is actually a really cool show! keep the grossness coming 😝
Thank you! Will do!
KittyMoo the goddess of memes. Im a middle schooler too
Who are they testing this on?
This chick reminds me of Moira Brown from Fallout 3.
I eat lead chips all the time, and I don't feel any uhhh what was I talking about again?
Why is she not uploading vids ? :(
So my brain has more friends than me!?
Ive had lead poisioning before but that was when i was younger
Kayson The Cringe is it curable because just today the doctor said my baby sister (8 months) has some of the lead stuff in her blood but only a small amount so it’s not too bad (I have doubts) It’s probably from always putting things in her mouth in the house but do you think she is going to be okay I know you’re not a doctor but I want to here from someone who actually had this
I had a dangerous amount of lead in my blood..Luckily i was cured ^^
+Kayson The Cringe how were you cured?
you should reduce the noise in the background -> you look really fuzzy
They used lead in gasoline also
Still do, avgas for piston engine aircraft has lead in it. Many countries still use leaded gasoline as well.
It is thought that microwave radiation from cell phones and cell phone towers does it's damage by interfering with the calcium channels of cell membranes... maybe a little bit like lead.
why does lead paint end up in our body? what's the process? I can understand contaminated drinking water, no problem. Do the paint chips sneak up on us while we are sleeping and jump in our mouths? Can any one enlighten me, I'm just so ignorant about it. How can I make my very own lead paint?
There is lead in the water of Newark, NJ
.. Pencils. Lead. So have I been carrying a death stick with me my entire life?
I'm a bit confused. So does that mean if I just buy some mechanical pencil lead, break it apart and drop it in some water or food, I'm going to kill someone? Why do we use lead if its so dangerous? o.o
xX PhoenixHeart Xx modern pencils mechanical and wood, no longer contain lead. Today's pencils use carbon (graphite) mixed with wax and clay, this formula is completely safe and non-toxic.
xX PhoenixHeart Xx Pencil "lead" is actually a mixture of graphite and chalk. So even if you ate it, you'd be sick, but notead poisoned.
Is it possible that lead posing can make you not want to move to a know home? PLEASE ANSER.
Like each individuals cell phone if they would all stop freaking out about it and let our cellphones work.
Rip me then I just fucked up , I used a led my solder and might have breathed some in
Mr.Supreme Unknown Dont be scared, you need years of touching lead for those problems to occur,besides,lead solder is the best and lead free solder is just crap
And vapors from solder dont contain lead because leads boiling point is 1750c and iron tip reach only 350c or 450c
Love this channel
I heard something about hardening artery walls
They shut it down because they said there is a dangerous amount in the fountain.
Thank you I think we can shall may vphv understand the importance of thought, how multiple thoughts or speed in thoughts affect our brain ( and poison can spread if speed is high and negative thoughts exists ), so we can shall may vphv control the root of such thoughts ( substance disorder or thought or method disorder ) and prevent them with positive thoughts and thereby make everyone around us happy safe healthy and live with ease........................
I'll be the first one test for that BDNF 🙋🏽