Succimer treatment during ongoing lead exposure reduces tissue lead in suckling rats

There is a concern that oral treatment with succimer (meso‐2, 3‐dimercaptosuccinic acid, DMSA) can promote gastrointestinal lead absorption if not performed in a lead‐safe environment. The scope of our investigation was to evaluate the efficacy of oral DMSA treatment during oral lead exposure on tissue lead in suckling rats. Six‐day‐old Wistar rats of both genders were divided into two groups—untreated (Pb) and treated (Pb + DMSA)—with 10 animals per group. Lead (as acetate) was given orally at a dose of 2 mg kg−1 body weight day−1 for eight consecutive days (total dose 16 mg kg−1, i.e. 0.08 mmol kg−1). During this period the treated group received a daily dose of 0.5 mmol DMSA kg−1 body weight p.o. six times on days 1–3 and 6–8 of the experiment (total dose 3 mmol kg−1). Tissue lead was determined by means of atomic absorption spectrometry. The DMSA efficiently reduced the lead concentration in the analysed tissues (carcass, liver, kidneys and brain) by ∼50% compared with untreated controls. The pups' growth and organ weights were not affected. In conclusion, our results indicate that DMSA is an efficient oral lead chelator in sucklings even if challenged with ongoing lead exposure. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.