Dimercaptosuccinic acid in the treatment of depression following lead exposure

Details

• Personal Author:
  Frumkin H ; Gerr F
• Description:
  A case of moderate to severe depression in a lead (7439921) worker that responded to dimercaptosuccinic-acid (DMSA) therapy was described. A 44 year old male was referred for possible toxic effects from occupational exposure to lead. He complained of depressed mood, fatigue, inability to concentrate, anhedonia, nightmares, and early morning awakening that had developed and worsened over 1 year. His occupational history included military service and work as a self employed bricklayer. At the age of 27 he started work in a lead battery manufacturing facility. Over the subsequent 17 years, he worked in most of the areas of the facility. He had not used a respirator until about 1 year prior to presentation. He typically wore his work cloths home without showering or changing them at the site. He did wear gloves at work, but he habitually bit his fingernails and may have ingested lead. Quarterly blood lead levels over the duration of employment were reviewed. The patient was offered DMSA chelation, which was extremely successful. The authors raise the possibility that DMSA may play a role in treating lead related depression. The authors submit three other explanations for the improvement. As depression is characterized by spontaneous remissions, the improvement may have occurred without any intervention. Since this report describes a single patient, the improvement may have been due to a placebo effect. The improvement may have been secondary to a decreased lead level in the central nervous system following DMSA treatment. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Case Reports Chelating Agents Lead Lead Poisoning Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Metals Metals, Heavy Nervous System Nervous System Diseases Occupational Health Poisoning Safety

  More +
• Keywords:
  Battery-manufacturing-industry Case-studies Chelating-agents Heavy-metal-poisoning Lead-poisoning Medical-treatment Nervous-system-disorders Neurotoxic-effects NIOSH-Cooperative-Agreement NIOSH-Grant NIOSH-Publication

  More +
• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  24
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00218174
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 1993 Dec; 24(6):701-706
• Contact Point Address:
  Community Medicine Mount Sinai School of Medicine One Gustave L Levy Place New York, NY 10029
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1994
• NORA Priority Area:
  Neurotoxic Disorders ; Neurotoxic Effects
• Performing Organization:
  Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19900928
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  19930927
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:eaf981b4ba1b9b5705959faad45d3489abf293e111b75782d54845353759621ca4e926040eb1760ef9bfff6cc5ad81c0483186144b2ba291eb04e6d6fa56423a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/204498/cdc_204498_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 384.05 KB ]