Saturday, April 25, 2015

Long-term exposure to air pollution may pose risk to brain structure, cognitive functions

So air pollution might reduce our ability to recognize the problem, and make us more susceptible to being fooled by those who profit from it and try to derail regulations that might reduce their profits.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-04/bidm-let042115.php

Public Release: 23-Apr-2015
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Air pollution, even at moderate levels, has long been recognized as a factor in raising the risk of stroke. A new study led by scientists from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine suggests that long-term exposure can cause damage to brain structures and impair cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults.

Writing in the May 2015 issue of Stroke, researchers who studied more than 900 participants of the Framingham Heart Study found evidence of smaller brain structure and of covert brain infarcts, a type of "silent" ischemic stroke resulting from a blockage in the blood vessels supplying the brain.

The study evaluated how far participants lived from major roadways and used satellite imagery to assess prolonged exposure to ambient fine particulate matter, particles with a diameter of 2.5 millionth of a meter, referred to as PM2.5.

These particles come from a variety of sources, including power plants, factories, trucks and automobiles and the burning of wood. They can travel deeply into the lungs and have been associated in other studies with increased numbers of hospital admissions for cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes.

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