Air pollution in urban environments has long been strongly associated with poor health: it provokes cancer, immunodeficiency, osteoporosis, heart problems and dementia. At the same time, understanding the mechanisms of development of diseases due to poor air quality caused difficulties for specialists.
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The presence of a link between the occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease and air pollution is already known to the scientific community, but in a new research paper, presented V Environmental International, scientists have focused directly on the mechanisms of development of neurodegenerative diseases. They found that many cases of late-stage disease are influenced by environmental or lifestyle factors. In particular, the researchers were interested in one of the elements present in the air.
Scientists have indicated that the brains of many people who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease had increased levels of magnetite, a naturally occurring iron oxide. Previously, there was a theory that magnetite particles could appear naturally in the brain, as a byproduct of the brain’s process of processing iron. However, in 2016, it was hypothesized that this substance appears in the body due to industrial air pollution.
In the new paper, the researchers tested this hypothesis in mice, finding that prolonged exposure to magnetite-polluted air caused anxiety, stress, neuronal loss, as well as inflammation and oxidative stress. All of them are pathological signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
2024-03-11 13:31:41
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