ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2008
Association of lead exposure with survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pesticide exposure and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Neurotoxicology · 2012Pooled it
- Investigating the Potential Roles of Environmental Exposures on the Pathology of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis by Overlap Analysis.Neurotoxicity research · 2025Article
- Occupational lead exposure and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis survival in the Danish National Patient Registry.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis & frontotemporal degeneration · 2025Article
- Article
- Occupational lead exposure and survival with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis & frontotemporal degeneration · 2023Article
- Oxidative Stress in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Synergy of Genetic and Environmental Factors.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of "the Dyspnea-ALS-Scale (DALS-15)".Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2022Article
- Assessing Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms as Risk Factors for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.Neurotoxicity research · 2018Article
- Blood Lead, Bone Turnover, and Survival in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.American journal of epidemiology · 2017Article
- Mapping amyotrophic lateral sclerosis lake risk factors across northern New England.International journal of health geographics · 2014Article
- Clinical perspective on oxidative stress in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Free radical biology & medicine · 2013Review
- Assessment of ALS mortality in a cohort of formaldehyde-exposed garment workers.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis & frontotemporal degeneration · 2013Article
- Exposure to environmental toxicants and pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: state of the art and research perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2013Review
- Ca2+ entry pathways in mouse spinal motor neurons in culture following in vitro exposure to methylmercury.Neurotoxicology · 2011Article
- The protean toxicities of lead: new chapters in a familiar story.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2011Review
- The cyanobacteria derived toxin Beta-N-methylamino-L-alanine and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Toxins · 2010Review
- Association of ALS with head injury, cigarette smoking and APOE genotypes.Journal of the neurological sciences · 2010Article
- Lead exposure stimulates VEGF expression in the spinal cord and extends survival in a mouse model of ALS.Neurobiology of disease · 2010Article
- Association of smoking with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis risk and survival in men and women: a prospective study.BMC neurology · 2010Article
- Workplace exposures and the risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Environmental health perspectives · 2009Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundReasons for the variability in survival among ALS cases are unknown but may include exposure to environmental neurotoxicants.
objectivesWe aimed to determine whether lead exposure, assessed by measuring blood and bone lead levels, is associated with survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
methodsWe evaluated the relationship of lead exposure to ALS survival in 110 cases from a case-control study conducted in New England in 1993-1996 that included measurements of blood and bone lead. We retrieved information on date and cause of death through 31 December 2003 from the National Death Index Plus and the Social Security Administration Death Index. We evaluated the relationship of survival to lead exposure using Cox proportional hazard analysis, with adjustment for age, sex, and smoking.
resultsWe found mortality data for 100 of 110 cases; 93 of 100 death certificates mentioned ALS. Median survival from diagnosis to death was 28 months. Shorter survival was associated with older age at diagnosis, female sex, bulbar onset, shorter interval between symptom onset and diagnosis, and reduced lung function. Shorter survival from diagnosis to death had a weak inverse association with blood lead (hazard ratio = 0.9; 95% confidence interval, 0.8-1.0) and a stronger inverse association with patella lead (0.5; 0.2-1.0) and tibia lead (0.3; 0.1-0.7); similar results were found for survival from symptom onset to death.
conclusionsThese results suggest that lead exposure is associated with longer survival in ALS cases and, if confirmed, may shed light on mechanisms involved in disease progression.
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