Lead poisoning affects not only a pregnant woman's child, but also her grandchildren decades down the line, new research suggests. It's not clear precisely what effect the DNA changes have on the body and its organs, according to the research by Wayne State University's Douglas Ruden. But previous research has shown that a mother's lead exposure can affect an unborn child's brain and cause developmental problems later in life. "You have to think of a pregnant woman like a Russian doll. She's the outer layer, and her baby is the middle layer, and this next baby is the inner doll," said Ruden, professor at WSU's obstetrics and gynecology department and program leader in the Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors. "When Mom was born in 1985 ... her eggs that won't be fertilized for 20 or 30 years are damaged." The study was published online this month in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports. Ruden's team recruited mothers and children visiting Detroit clinics to receive benefits from a program for low-income families at high risk for lead exposure, in part because many live in older homes with lead paint. They focused on 35 women whose children shared their mothers' telltale DNA changes from lead exposure. Ruden's team analyzed DNA in blood that had been drawn from the 35 women at the time of their birth, finding that the blood already carried the same DNA markers. That means that their own mothers also had been exposed to lead.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/10/24/wayne-state-lead-study-poisoning-flint-water/74439922/
http://mms.tveyes.com/Transcript.asp?StationID=999&DateTime=10%2F26%2F2015+5%3A55%3A34+AM&LineNumber=&MediaStationID=999&playclip=True&RefPage=