Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University, Grossman School of Medicine, New York, USA
Review Article
The Toxicity of Carcinogenic Metals to the Brain
Author(s): Max Costa* and Angelica Ortiz
Metal toxicity is often associated with inflammatory diseases and carcinogenesis. Various metal compounds have the
capacity to induce DNA damage and elicit epigenetic changes that contribute to cell transformation and cancer.
Understanding the altered pathways elicited by these metals and metal compounds aid in the preventative care as well
as establishment of therapy regimens. As the ambient environment becomes contaminated with these toxic metals,
studies have also demonstrated a growing capacity of metals designated as carcinogens to also exhibit neurotoxicity.
The brain is often thought as a protected organ within the confines of the skull and protected from foreign
substances by the blood brain barrier. Unfortunately, carcinogenic metals exist as compounds conferring their ability
to enter the brain and accumulate, and in many instances they do so by destroyi.. View more»