Tips For A Healthy Lifestyle: 'Pollution May Promote Dementia'

Tips For A Healthy Lifestyle: 'Pollution May Promote Dementia'
Dr. Weil's Daily Tip, December 20, 2010

Pollution is known to negatively affect the central nervous system. A recent study shows that mental capacities may be reduced as a result.  More research needs to be conducted but this finding follows common sense which concludes that pollution is bad for us on many levels.  For more, read the short article from Dr. Weil below.  

In this recent study, a doubling of exposure to black carbon - a pollutant associated with engine exhaust - was associated with lower than expected scores on a screening test for dementia. The investigation included 680 men, whose average age was 71. The same Boston-area men also had lower composite scores on six other cognitive function tests. We know that particles from pollutants generated by traffic can cause oxidative stress and adversely affect the central nervous system. The differences in mental capacities seen in the study were similar to those normally seen in men nearly two years older. While the study doesn't prove that pollution caused the deficits seen, the researchers noted that particles found in diesel exhaust are small enough to pass through the air-blood barriers of the lung, enter circulation and travel to various body tissues, including the brain, where they can cause neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. The researchers said that their findings require confirmation by further research. The study was published online Dec. 20, 2010 in Environmental Health Perspectives.