Treatment of lead poisoning with an immobilized chelator comparison with conventional therapy

Lead poisoning is a global public health problem. In pregnant women it may result in developmental delays of the fetus, in children it may produce learning disability. Available chelators are nephrotoxic when eliminated as lead-chelator complexes. For safe removal of lead from the body we developed a "Lead-Hemopurifier" (L-HP), a device with an immobilized chelator. In vitro, applied to lead solutions, this device reduced the lead concentration. Applied to dogs with lead intoxication, Lead-HP-s removed lead from the blood; this was continuously replaced by lead from the bones until the skeleton was cleared from lead deposits. Treatment of lead poisoning in dogs with Lead-HP-s compared favorably with Versenate treatment of children with lead toxiciy. This report demonstrates the in vivo efficiency and safety of this new detoxification method. Methods to induce lead poisoning in dogs and procedures to identify lead released from skeletal deposits are described.