Neurocognitive effects of aluminum
K. I. Bolla, G. Briefel, D. Spector, B. S. Schwartz, L. Wieler, J. Herron and L. Gimenez
Department of Neurology, Francis Scott Key Medical Center, Baltimore, Md 21224.
The neurocognitive effects of aluminum (Al) were studied in 35 hemodialysis
patients. Higher Al levels were associated with a decline in visual memory.
As Al levels increased, patients with lower vocabulary scores (a measure of
premorbid intelligence) showed a decline in attention/concentration,
frontal lobe functions, and on several neurocognitive measures, while those
with higher vocabulary scores revealed no Al-related decline. These results
suggest that individuals with lower verbal intelligence may possess less
well-developed compensatory strategies to overcome the neurocognitive
effects associated with Al. These data also indicate that Al is neurotoxic
and, therefore, potential sources of environmental Al should be identified
and eliminated.
