This condition can cause neuropathy, swelling, and pain in the hands and feet in another condition called acrodynia or “pink disease.” While studying this condition in his lab at Caltech, Clair Cameron Patterson used one of the first cleanrooms to discredit earlier findings by Robert Kehoe. A molecule that causes this condition mimics methionine after binding with cysteine, allowing it to cross the blood–brain barrier. One form of this condition results in a triad of tremors, gingivitis, and erethism. This condition, which is the cause of itai-itai disease and Minamata disease, is often treated with medical-grade Prussian blue, succimer, or sodium calcium EDTA in chelation therapy. For 10 points, what condition is caused by prolonged exposure to elements like lead or mercury? ■END■
ANSWER: heavy metal poisoning [or heavy metal toxicity; accept lead poisoning or mercury poisoning until read; accept arsenic poisoning or cadmium poisoning or selenium poisoning; accept plumbism or saturnism; accept itai-itai disease until read; accept Minamata disease until read; prompt on acute poisoning or acute toxicity] (Patterson was a vocal opponent of leaded gasoline, which Kehoe had earlier claimed was safe in a now-discredited study.)
<Toronto A, Biology>
= Average correct buzz position