Strain on roads Does air pollution increase Alzheimer's risk?

Increased Risk: Promotes Alzheimer's Air Pollution?

It has long been recognized that air pollution poses a health hazard and can cause cancer, among other things, at high levels of stress. In recent years, studies have also indicated that it could possibly come through dirty air to brain damage. Researchers now want to investigate whether poor air quality can also influence the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Health consequences of air pollution

As an international research team reported years ago in the journal "Nature", in Germany alone, around 35,000 people die every year from the effects of air pollution. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are approximately seven million deaths worldwide each year. It has long been known that particulate matter can damage the lungs and increase the risk of, among other things, cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks. In recent years, studies have also suggested that air pollution can significantly increase the risk of dementia. Scientists from Germany and the Netherlands now want to find out in a research project whether poor air quality can also influence the development of Alzheimer's.

In a new research project, scientists want to find out if poor air quality near busy roads can affect the development of Alzheimer's disease. (Image: Gina Sanders / fotolia.com)

Accurate causes of Alzheimer's remain unclear

In Germany, around 1.5 million people suffer from dementia, the majority of whom have Alzheimer's disease. The disease is not curable.

Although more than 100 years have been researched, it is still unclear what the exact cause of the disease.

However, scientists have identified a number of factors involved in the development and development of dementia.

British researchers reported that one-third of dementia cases could be prevented by eliminating certain risk factors from childhood on. The nine risk factors for dementia identified by the scientists are:

Hearing loss in middle age, lack of education in adolescence, smoking, depression, physical inactivity, social isolation, hypertension, obesity and type 2 diabetes.

However, air pollution as a possible cause of Alzheimer's was not mentioned by the British experts.

Influence of poor air quality on Alzheimer's development
However, recent observational studies now show that people living near busy roads are at an increased risk for cognitive impairment.

Dr. Roel Schins from the IUF - Leibniz Institute for Environmental Medical Research in Dusseldorf now wants together with his Dutch project partner Prof. Dr. med. Flemming Cassee (RIVM Bilthoven, NL) will find out if poor air quality near busy roads can affect the development of Alzheimer's disease.

"If poor air quality actually triggers or accelerates the disease process, the legislature could intervene," Dr. Roel Schins in a message.

"That's why we want to find out which components of traffic-related air pollution can lead to possible cognitive impairments."

Are particulate matter or more gaseous components dangerous?

According to the information, Dr. Roel Schins uses a mouse model to explore whether there is a causal link between air pollution and increased Alzheimer's risk.

The effects of different components of outdoor air on a busy road on the rodent brain compared to clean air are investigated.

Thus, it could be determined whether the particulate matter or more gaseous components are particularly harmful. (Ad)