Lead is a neurotoxin that causes irreparable harm to children’s brains, and exposure is all too common around the world. "Even the smallest amounts of lead can have a negative effect on children,” notes FIU’s Tomás Guilarte. Therapies such as chelation therapy can remove lead from the body but don’t reverse the damage to cognitive function.
Guilarte was among the first to document lead’s effects at the cellular level and how those effects trigger lifelong consequences, from learning difficulties and lower IQ scores to the risk of psychiatric diseases and drug abuse in adulthood. “After many discoveries, we are currently investigating ways to improve the cognitive deficits resulting from childhood lead intoxication.”
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