Scientists discovered poisonous air pollution particles in human brain read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/770-scientists-discovered-poisonous-air-pollution-particles-in-human-brain

A new study reveals Toxic nanoparticles from air pollution have been discovered in human brains.

Air pollution is a global health crisis that kills people more than malaria and HIV/Aids combined and it has long been linked to lung and heart disease and strokes. But research is uncovering new impacts on health, including degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, mental illness and reduced intelligence.

Researchers examined brain tissue from 37 people in Manchester, in the UK, and Mexico, aged between three and 92. They found abundant particles of magnetite, an iron oxide.

Prof Barbara Maher, at Lancaster University, who led the new research, explains, Magnetite in the brain is not something you want to have because it is particularly toxic. It can create reactive oxygen species called free radicals.

Oxidative cell damage is one of the hallmark features of Alzheimer’s disease, and this is why the presence of magnetite is so potentially significant, because it is so bio reactive.

Abnormal accumulation of brain metals is a key feature of Alzheimer’s disease and a recent study showed that magnetite was directly associated with the damage seen in Alzheimer’s brains. Magnetite particles are known to form biologically in human brains, but these are small and crystal-shaped.

Many of the magnetite particles in the brain are very distinctive. They are very rounded Nano spheres, because they were formed as molten droplets of material from combustion sources, such as car exhausts, industrial processes and power stations.

Particles smaller than 200 nm are small enough to enter the brain directly through the olfactory nerve after breathing air pollution through the nose.

Prof David Allsop, an Alzheimer’s disease expert at Lancaster University said, once nanoparticles directly enter olfactory areas of the brain through the nose, they can spread to other areas of the brain, including hippocampus and cerebral cortex regions affected in Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists also observed other metal-bearing particles in the brain, such as platinum, cobalt and nickel. Things like platinum are very unlikely to come from a source within the brain. It is a bit of an indicator of a catalytic converter source.

These results indicate that magnetite nanoparticles in the atmosphere can enter the human brain, where they might pose a risk to human health, including conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.