- Microscopic particles, possibly from air pollution, have been found in human brain tissue, according to a new study which flagged an Alzheimer’s risk.
- The study authors urged further research into any “possible hazard to human health”, even as outside experts cautioned it was premature to draw a definitive link between the particles and neurodegenerative disease.
- A team of scientists from Britain, Mexico and the United States conducted magnetic tests on frozen brain tissue obtained from 37 people aged three to 92. They found nanoparticles of magnetite, a form of iron ore, which looked different from those which are formed naturally by the human brain.
- Instead, the particles showed “compelling similarity” to particulate matter formed by fuel combustion, found in urban air pollution — from car exhausts, factory fumes and indoor cooking fires, said the team.
- “Previous work has shown a correlation between the amount of brain magnetite and the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.
All About Alzheimer’s disease:
Facts:
- a slowly progressive disease of the brain that is characterized by symptoms like impairment of memory and eventually by disturbances in reasoning, planning, language, and perception.
- increases substantially after the age of 70, and it may affect around 50% of persons over the age of 85.
- The main risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease is increased age. There are also genetic and other risk factors.
- Characteristic symptoms and stages of Alzheimer disease include
- problems with performing familiar tasks,
- difficulty writing or speaking,
- loss of orientation to time and place,
- losing or misplacing items,
- mood or behavior changes,
- loss of interest in daily activities, and
- poor judgment.
- Symptoms may be present in varying degrees of severity.
- The cause(s) of Alzheimer’s disease is (are) not known. Although, accumulation of the protein amyloid in the brain is suspected to play a role.
- The diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease should be based on a comprehensive examination that rules out other causes of dementia.
- There are numerous causes of dementia, so having the characteristic symptoms do not necessarily mean that a person has Alzheimer disease.
- The treatment and management of Alzheimer’s disease consists of medications and non-medication based treatments.
What’s the difference between Alzheimer’s disease and dementia?
Dementia is a syndrome characterized by:
- impairment in memory,
- impairment in another area of thinking such as the ability to organize thoughts and reason, the ability to use language, or the ability to see accurately the visual world (not because of eye disease), and
- these impairments are severe enough to cause a decline in the patient’s usual level of functioning
Other risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease include:
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Possibly elevated blood cholesterol
- Individuals who have completed less than eight years of education also have an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. These factors increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, but by no means do they mean that Alzheimer’s disease is inevitable in persons with these factors.
- A majority of people with Down syndrome will develop the brain changes of Alzheimer’s disease by 40 years of age. This fact was also a clue to the “amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease”
-
Some studies have found that Alzheimer’s disease occurs more often among people who suffered significant traumatic head injuries earlier in life, particularly among those with the apoE4 gene.
