Air pollution casts magnetic waste in human brain, ups risk of Alzheimer's

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The tiny, hazardous nanoparticles of air pollution emitted by cars and industries travel directly to the brains and triggers the risk of Alzheimer's, according to a latest study.

Scientists at Lancaster, Oxford and Manchester Universities discovered 'abundant' quantities of toxic air pollution particles in human brains.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, detected the brain of 37 persons aged from three to 85 who have either lived in Manchester in UK or Mexico city.

They found presence of minute magnetic particles in the brain tissues significantly increases the risk of various neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's.

"Our 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,” Barbara Maher, lead author of the paper from the Lancaster University in Lancashire, U.K., said in a statement.