The ralationship between lead levels in hair and cerebral palsy was investigated. The seventy subjects with cerebral palsy a rehabilitation center which was located in the Kyunggi Province in Korea: 32 children with parents and 38 children without parents. The thirty one control subjects, with parents, were drown from these who had got average or above average academic achievement in a regular elementary school. Atomic Absorption Electrophotometer, Model Z-6100, was used for the analysis of lead.

The mean value of lead in the hair of cerebral palsied children was 4.40⁑2.23 ppm, which was not significantly higher than that of the control group, 3.95⁑1.56 ppm. Also, there was no relationship between the lead contents and sex. The mean value of lead in the hair of children without parents was 5.33⁑2.36 ppm. This was significantly higher than that of children with parents, 3.61⁑1.53 ppm. Also, children in the cerebral palised group without parents had significantly higher lead contents than did the children with parents.

The findings of this study suggest that there were more opportunities for exposure to lead in cerebral palsied children without parents. Therefore, the causal relationship between lead levels and cerebral palsy should be established through examinations of their living environment, dietary pattern, and eating habits.

Keywords :Lead, Hair, Cerebral palsy