Neurotoxicidad por exposición a metales pesadosevidencias y cuestiones por resolver

Zusammenfassung

Heavy metals are a group of chemical agents that are present in the Earth crust in varying concentrations. Many of these compounds are of great importance in today’s world, as they are used in many industrial processes. Due to their abundance in nature and considering that research carried out in recent years has shown the involvement of heavy metals in the development of numerous pathological processes, a bibliographic review has been carried out with the aim of evaluating the relationship between exposure to certain heavy metals and the development of neurotoxicity. This analysis has been carried out using the Medline database and, after a first screening of the references, it has focused on the evaluation of seven agents: aluminum, lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, manganese and thallium. Neurotoxicity developed after acute or chronic exposure has been shown to be due to its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Some of the toxicity mechanisms have not yet been fully defined, but in almost all investigations they have been related to the ability to interfere with biological processes and to induce oxidative stress and neuronal apoptosis. There are certain pathologies for which a direct relationship with exposure has been found. However, in the field of neurodegenerative diseases, the evidence found is less conclusive.