Metal exposure in the physically and mentally challenged children of Punjab, India.

UNLABELLED We collected 149 hair samples at the Baba Farid Centre at Faridkot in Punjab, India to evaluate the trace and toxic metal concentration via ICP-MS. A total of 53 elements were tested. The hair of the children tested showed high values for Ba, Cd, Mn, Pb and U, signifying long-term exposure. Urine baseline testing supported hair analysis findings for all the elements listed above; a DMSA (Dimercapto Succinic Acid) challenge test raised urinary values for lead. Testing of six randomly selected water samples showed concentrations above the European maximum contaminant level for uranium (U) in three samples and lead (Pb) in one.Research aim:To evaluate if hair analysis and/or urine provocation confirm or refute long term metal intoxication. To support or refute that hair mineral analysis confirms urine challenge test results. To support or refute that a DMSA urine challenge test provides a valuable treatment option for metal exposure in children. CONCLUSION Our results documented that hair and urine mineral analysis results are supportive of each other, and are both useful diagnostic tools in chelation therapy. We also documented that a DMSA challenge test confirms long term exposure as detected through hair mineral analysis. This indicates that the chelating agent DMSA (Dimercapto succinic acid) provides a safe and valuable treatment option for lead overexposure.