The lanthanum cation La3+ is a positive allosteric modulator at native and recombinant GABA receptors, increasing open channel time and decreasing desensitization in a subunit configuration dependent manner.Lanthanum is an essential cofactor for the methanol dehydrogenase of the methanotrophic bacterium Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum SolV, although the great chemical similarity of the lanthanides means that it may be substituted with cerium, praseodymium, or neodymium without ill effects, and with the smaller samarium, europium, or gadolinium giving no side effects other than slower growth. Precautions
Lanthanum has a low to moderate level of toxicity and should be handled with care. The injection of lanthanum solutions produces hyperglycemia, low blood pressure, degeneration of the spleen and hepatic alterations. The application in carbon arc light led to the exposure of people to rare earth element oxides and fluorides, which sometimes led to pneumoconiosis. As the La3+ ion is similar in size to the Ca2+ ion, it is sometimes used as an easily traced substitute for the latter in medical studies. Lanthanum, like the other lanthanides, is known to affect human metabolism, lowering cholesterol levels, blood pressure, appetite, and risk of blood coagulation. When injected into the brain, it acts as a painkiller, similarly to morphine and other opiates, though the mechanism behind this is still unknown.
Diabetes during pregnancy particularly during the first trimester seems to predispose to a number of distinct congenital abnormalities in the infant such as sacral agenesis, transposition of the great vessels and the syndromic form of biliary atresia. References
Further reading
Bhatnagar, V; Kumar, Arun; Gupta, AK (2005). "Choledochal cyst associated with extrahepatic bile duct atresia". Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons. 10 (1): 48–9. doi:10.4103/0971-9261.16077. == External links ==