Alzheimer's Society comment on lead exposure and risk of Alzheimer's disease, following research in the Journal of Neuroscience

Lead is well known to have a number of detrimental effects on cells and its not surprising that some of these occur in the brain.

Many people die with plaques and tangles in their brain despite never experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. This research does not mention whether the monkeys that had been exposed to lead had any symptoms of dementia or if their behaviour changed as they aged.

It's likely that a number of lifestyle and environmental factors help cause Alzheimer's disease or speed up its progression in some people. We know of a number of genes that can affect a person's risk of Alzheimer's, but most of these only raise the risk a tiny bit. More research is needed to investigate if early life events can influence brain changes that increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Susanne Sorensen
Head of Research
Alzheimer's Society