article
Progressive encephalopathy due to chronic exposure to lead
Encefalopatia progressiva por exposição crônica ao chumbo
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Autor
Brito, Paulo Santiago de Morais
Aquino, Bárbara Cristina Vieira de
Pessoa Neto, Agábio Diógenes
Freire, Mariana Galvão de Lima Martins
Fidelix, Emanuela Coriolano
Moreira Neto, Manuel
Silva, Rodrigo Alencar e
Godeiro Junior, Clécio de Oliveira
Resumen
A 70-year-old man reported a 2-year history of progressive gait imbalance and cognitive decline (memory, executive functions, and language impairment). A physical examination revealed spastic ataxia without peripheral involvement. The patient worked with car battery solutions for 40 years, until 13 years ago.1 He had several hospitalizations due to acute lead poisoning, with levels of lead in the blood and urinary delta-aminolevulinic acid of 162,8 g/dl and 20 mg/U (normal: up to 40 g/dl and 4,5 mg/U) respectively). Recent
brain neuroimages showed typical findings of saturnism,2 with normal bone profile blood tests. Therefore, chronic lead poisoning should be remembered as an environmental cause of leukoencephalopathy.