Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

AutoModerator t1_jd77mgy wrote

Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, personal anecdotes are allowed as responses to this comment. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will be removed and our normal comment rules apply to all other comments.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

Wagamaga OP t1_jd77oo0 wrote

Professors Cho Jae-rim and Kim Chang-soo of Yonsei University College of Medicine’s Prevention Medicine Class and Professor Roh Young of the Neurology Department at Gachon University Gil Medical Center conducted the study.

Air pollutants enter the lungs through the respiratory tract and cause inflammation, which causes various diseases throughout the body, especially the inflammation of nerves when it reaches the brain. The research team confirmed through previous studies that air pollutants affect the atrophy of the cerebral cortex. Still, no evidence exists that this phenomenon led to cognitive decline and Alzheimer's.

Cortical changes in the cerebral cortex are closely related to brain diseases, including Alzheimer's. The average cerebral cortex thickness in healthy ordinary people is 2.5 millimeters, but that of patients with Alzheimer's was thinner, with 2.2mm.

The researchers studied the effects air pollution has on brain health using three primary air-polluting materials – ultrafine dust (PM2.5), fine dust (PM10), and nitrous oxide (NO2) – as indicators in 640 healthy adults 50 and older with no brain diseases in Seoul, Incheon, Wonju and Pyeongchang for 32 months from August 2014.

The result showed that the thickness of the cerebral cortex decreased as the concentration of air pollutants increased. For instance, when the concentration of fine dust and ultrafine dust increases by 10μg/, and nitrogen dioxide increases by 10ppb, the thickness of the cerebral cortex decreases by 0.04mm, 0.03mm, and 0.05mm.

https://www.koreabiomed.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=20668

32

Azzy8007 t1_jd77uly wrote

Soooooo ... we all just need to stop breathing. Piece of cake.

1

Transposer t1_jd7oyop wrote

I wonder if things like turmeric or meditation help to reduce this disease-contributing inflammation.

−5

TacTurtle t1_jd8kyxj wrote

Interesting correlation, I would be curious to find out if seasonal pollen allergies also correlate with an increased Alzheimer’s risk.

7

Beakersoverflowing t1_jd8v1lh wrote

Replying to Censordoll (#2,305,770)

You can theoretically scrub the air entering your home. But then you would need to spend the majority of time inside your home to mitigate risk amd being a shut in has its own health consequences. It's probably better to move somewhere with less pollution.

6

Beakersoverflowing t1_jd8vil0 wrote

Replying to Dapaaads (#2,304,108)

Meditation doesn't impart its benefits in a cognitive space isolated from physiology. The distinction between cognitive and biochemical space is farcical. It's all manifesting via matter even if you don't know what matter is being perturbed.

−2

nohabloaleman t1_jd8vyj9 wrote

Replying to Transposer (#2,304,150)

Think about inflammation as being on a continuous line and everyone has a certain level of it. There are many things that will increase (e.g., air pollution, stress) or decrease (e.g., meditation, sleep) the level of inflammation. Even if there isn't anything that can be done to mitigate air pollutants once they're in the body, meditation would still be good to keep the overall inflammation from being as high as it could be.

3

JackSilver1410 t1_jd9an3n wrote

Got anything good to tell us or are you just jumping on the bandwagon of... every cable news channel?

−8

Jacollinsver t1_jd9fy15 wrote

Is it a specific pollutant or just general pollutants? If general, does this mean that smokers of any substance increase their risk of Alzheimer's?

20

IrisSmartAss t1_jdbkm2o wrote

I'm sensitive to pollution (coughed when I read this) and live in the Atlanta area which has the worst air quality of any major city in the country. On days when my brain is filled with chemical pollutants, my brain is foggier and poorer concentration. When the air has cleared (not often) brain function returns. BTW I'm an accountant, so I really notice this.

3

SuperNovaEmber t1_jdblu3n wrote

Replying to born2bfi (#2,306,709)

It's fun to think about how many prophets likely had severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia.

Sadly, religion starts making a little too much sense once you factor in the collective delusions of the mentally ill.

0

Xerenopd t1_jdc9wk1 wrote

People that mouth breathes are more susceptible I assume compared to someone that nasal breathes.

1

Electrical-Bed8577 t1_jdh81h2 wrote

Replying to Transposer (#2,304,150)

You would need anti-inflammatory foods, liver cleansing and heart-kidney-brain supporting diet and herbs (crush/powdered, tincture), as well as breathing meditation exercises, to begin to mitigate particulate damage. Also good letter and lobbying skills, to politely tell politicians to quit being rat bastards in league with toxic corporations.

1