7/29/2019 Air Pollution Articles

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Air pollution causes harmful physical changes in the brain

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http://www.naturalnews.com/032983_air_pollution_brain.html#ixzz1njxxsVmk

(NaturalNews) No one likes breathing polluted air (Simple Sentences with

Complements). Exhaust fumes and particulate matter hanging in the air can make you

cough and give you a headache (Compound Sentences). As NaturalNews has reported

previously, it can harm your health in ways that aren't so obvious, as well. For example, Ohio

State University researchers have found a direct link between air pollution and high blood

pressure.

Now comes information from another Ohio State University study that long-term

exposure toair pollutioncan literally change yourbrain. And as you might expect, these

physical changes inthe brainare not beneficial. They are associated withlearningand

memory problems and evendepression.

The new study, just published online in the journalMolecular Psychiatryis the first long-term

researchto show the negative impact of airpollutionon the brain, according to Laura

Fonken,leadauthor of the study and a doctoral student in neuroscience at Ohio State

University."Theresultssuggest prolongedexposureto polluted air can have visible,

negative effects on the brain, which can lead to a variety ofhealthproblems,"Fonken said

in a statement to the media.

In earlier studies in mice, researchers in Ohio State University's Davis Heart and Lung

Research Institute (who also collaborated with Fonken and colleagues on the new research

project)(Dependent Clauses), found that fine air particulate matter causes widespread

inflammationin the body -- leading to a heightened risk for diabetes and obesity, as well as

hypertension. Their extended research on air pollution's impact on the brain adds moredisturbingevidencethat bad air is bad for thinking, too.

"The more we learn about the health effects of prolonged exposure to air pollution, the

more reasons there are to be concerned," stated Randy Nelson, co-author of the study and

professor of neuroscience and psychology at Ohio State, in the press statement.

For the new study, lab mice were exposed five days a week to either filtered air or polluted

air for six hours a day. The polluted air contained the same type of pollution created by cars,factories andnaturaldust and included very fine particulate matter -- particles so minute

they are only about 1/30th of the average width of a human hair. Because of their small size,

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these particles can be inhaled deeply into the lungs and end up in other organs of the body.

The mice were exposed to an amount of polluted air equivalent to whatpeopleare exposed

to in some polluted urban areas, according to the researchers. Then various behavioral tests

were performed on the rodents after theanimalsspent 10 months regularlybreathingeither

filtered or polluted air.

The results showed severe impairments inmemoryand learning in the pollution exposed

animals. And mice exposed to the polluted air exhibited more depressive-like behaviors than

did the mice that breathed the clean air. In addition, the polluted-air breathing mice showed

signs of higher levels of anxiety-like behaviors in one specific test, but not in another.

So how could air pollution trigger changesin learning, memory and mood? (Comples

Sentences

Dependent Clause). To find out, thescientistsfocused on the hippocampus, thearea of the brain associated with learning, memory and depression.

The results? The researchers found undeniable physical differences in the hippocampi of the

mice who were exposed to polluted air compared to the animals who breathed clean air.

Specifically, neurons (nerve cells) known as dendrites were clearly changed. Normally,

dendrites have small projections growing off them, dubbed spines, which transmit signals

from one neuron to another. But in the mice exposed to polluted air, there were shorter

dendrites, fewer dendrite spikes and, overall, a reduction in the complexity of brain cells.

And earlier research has shown that these types of changes are linked to decreased learning

and memory abilities.

The research team found evidence that low-grade inflammation was evident in the

hippocampus in the pollution exposed mice. That could have caused the brain changes.

Inflammation-causing chemical messengers in the immune system known as cytokines were

found to be more active in the hippocampus in the animals who breathed the polluted air.

"The hippocampus is particularly sensitive to damage caused by inflammation," Fonken said

in the media statement. "We suspect that the systemic inflammation caused by breathing

polluted air is being communicated to the central nervous system."

Although the new study involved mice and not humans, the scientists think the findings

have profound implications for people exposed regularly to air pollution ( Complex

Sentences Dependent Clauses) ."This could have important and troubling implications for

people who live and work in polluted urban areas around the world,"Fonken concluded.

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