Increased lead uptake by spinal cord during experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in rats

To determine whether experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) appreciably alters the uptake of lead (Pb) by the nervous system, three groups of Lewis rats were given either lead acetate alone, lead acetate plus EAE treatment, or EAE treatment alone. Twenty-three days after the induction of EAE, all rats were killed. Pb uptake was almost doubled in the spinal cord of rats having EAE while no significant changes occurred in blood or brain Pb levels. Histopathological effects produced by concurrent Pb administration and EAE were no different from those observed in rats having EAE alone.