title: Prenatal and early postnatal lead exposure in mice: neuroimaging findings.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Childhood lead exposure has been linked to adult gray matter loss accompanied by changes in myelination and neurochemistry noninvasively revealed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods. However, the extent, duration and timing of lead exposure required to produce such imaging changes in humans are difficult to ascertain.
  
  
  METHODS
  To determine if such changes are related to early exposure to low levels of lead, we treated mouse dams with 0, 3, or 30 ppm of lead acetate in drinking water for 2 months prior to mating through gestation until weaning of the offspring at post-natal day 21. Two male and two female pups from each litter were imaged at post-natal day 60. Volumetric, diffusion tensor imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) measurements were obtained using a seven Tesla Bruker animal MRI scanner.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Postnatal blood lead levels were identical between groups at the time of imaging. No effects of lead exposure were detected in the volumetric or MRS data. Mean diffusivity in the hippocampus showed significant effects of lead exposure and gender.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that low-level, gestational lead exposure in a mouse model produces minimal changes observed by MRI.
authors.affiliation: 1 Imaging Research Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA ; 2 Department of Environmental Health and Center for Environmental Genetics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA ; 3 Metallomics Center of the Americas, Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Diana M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Lindquist
authors.affiliation: 1 Imaging Research Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA ; 2 Department of Environmental Health and Center for Environmental Genetics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA ; 3 Metallomics Center of the Americas, Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Travis
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Beckwith
authors.affiliation: 1 Imaging Research Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA ; 2 Department of Environmental Health and Center for Environmental Genetics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA ; 3 Metallomics Center of the Americas, Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Kim M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Cecil
authors.affiliation: 1 Imaging Research Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA ; 2 Department of Environmental Health and Center for Environmental Genetics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA ; 3 Metallomics Center of the Americas, Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Francisco Javier
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Martín
authors.affiliation: 1 Imaging Research Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA ; 2 Department of Environmental Health and Center for Environmental Genetics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA ; 3 Metallomics Center of the Americas, Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Landero-Figueroa
authors.affiliation: 1 Imaging Research Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA ; 2 Department of Environmental Health and Center for Environmental Genetics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA ; 3 Metallomics Center of the Americas, Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Alvaro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Puga
keywords: Lead; diffusion tensor imaging (DTI); magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)