Air pollution directly linked to increased dementia risk
3 days ago
- #air-pollution
- #neurodegenerative-diseases
- #dementia
- Air pollution exposure increases dementia risk, especially Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease with dementia.
- Study of 56 million people shows PM2.5 exposure accelerates dementia development in genetically predisposed individuals.
- PM2.5 exposure linked to 12% higher risk of severe Lewy body dementia requiring hospitalization.
- Mice exposed to PM2.5 showed behavioral issues, α-synuclein buildup, and brain shrinkage in memory-related regions.
- α-synuclein clumps found in gut and lungs of exposed mice, suggesting spread via gut-brain axis.
- Gene-expression changes in PM2.5-exposed mice correlated with those in human Lewy body dementia patients.