We evaluated the blood lead levels in 159 pregnant women and in their healthy newborns at birth. The blood lead levels were higher in mothers as compared with neonates, with a linear correlation between maternal and neonatal levels. The blood lead levels were also higher in neonates as compared with infants aged 6–12 months, and, besides, 2.5% of the newborns had blood lead levels >10 µg/dl, the actual level of concern according to the Center for Disease Control. The study of blood and urinary lead levels during the 1st week of life showed a steady decrease of blood lead levels, together with increasing levels of urinary lead. The mechanism of renal elimination is important to avoid persistently high free blood lead levels, with possible deposition in tissues with high lead affinity, such as bone. In newborns, the possibility of a functional renal insufficiency during the first days of life suggests that newborns with high cord blood lead levels and impaired renal function could be at high risk of lead toxicity, so that it could be advisable to perform a careful and prolonged follow-up.

The effectiveness of deferiprone (L1) and the influence of other factors were determined in a clinical setting. Patients of Southern Italian origin, affected by β-thalassaemia major (n = 13: 7 M, 6 F), aged 10–28 years (median 18 years), were treated with L1 within a ‘Controlled Programme’ of the Italian Ministry of Health. Desferrioxamine could not be administered in these patients because of anaphylactic reactions or other serious side effects. L1 was considered to be effective when the liver iron concentration was reduced or stable as measured by biomagnetic liver susceptometry. L1 proved to be effective in 3 out the 9 evaluable patients. A high pre-L1 iron overload was the main clinical factor influencing L1 effectiveness.