Air Pollution Linked to Brain Disorders

Scientists have discovered that tiny particles of magnetite, a kind of iron oxide often found in air pollution, can get into people’s brains. The particles are microscopic in size, and may contribute to brain disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. It is believed that the particles enter the brain through the olfactory bulb, in other words, they are breathed in through the nose, and enter the brain directly.

The particles are rounded in shape, a characteristic of particles formed in fires and in engines, although some particles found normally in the brain, with a jagged shape, were found, their numbers are much lower than those of the pollution particles. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution causes up to three million premature deaths per year.

Magnetite, the form of iron the particles are made from, is toxic to the brain because it if highly reactive, and the reactions can damage brain cells. It is known that magnetite increases Alzheimer’s risk, but the link from this particular kind of particles has not yet been definitively proven. The study that discovered the particles analyzed brains from people in Manchester and Mexico City, and while more pollution particles were found in the brains from Mexico City, there were still high levels of the particles in the brains from Manchester, suggesting that this problem is not limited to the most highly polluted cities but rather is present everywhere.

Sources: BBC news http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37276219

CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/06/health/air-pollution-inside-the-brain/index.html