Biology (Neuroscience)
Latif
articalreaserch.docxLatif Abdullah
October 17th, 2019
BIO 310
Air Pollution
Pollution is a subject that many countries and almost everyone knows about. When we think about pollution, the first thing comes to our mind is the air pollution because we see the pollution from the factories, cars, smokers and firing. What is obvious is that the air pollution would cause diseases is the lungs and the heart because they are responsible for the Oxygen in the human body. However, 60% of the oxygen that we breath is going to the brain. Therefore, we ask ourselves what might occur in the brain due to the pollution.
In fact, Researchers indicated that living in areas of high pollution has serious long-term health effects. Living in these areas during childhood and adolescence lead to diminished mental capacity and an increased risk of brain damage. People of all ages who live in high pollution areas for extended periods place themselves at increased risk of various neurological disorder. In fact, both air pollution and heavy mental pollution have been implicated as having negative effects on central nerves system functionality. The ability of pollutants to affect the neurophislophy of individuals after the structure of the CNS has become mostly stabilized is an example of negative neuroplasticity. In addition, by permanently affecting vascular structures in the brain, air pollution can have serious effects on neural functioning and neural matter. In dogs air pollution shows to cause damage to the CNS by altering the blood–brain barrier, causing neurons in the cerebral cortex to degenerate, destroying glial cells found in white matter, and by causing neurofibrillary tangles. (scientist magazine)
Furthermore, researchers are amassing evidence of cognitive and psychiatric dysfunction in pollution-exposed younger people, whose developing brains may be particularly vulnerable. In 2016, researchers found that Swedish children and adolescents were more likely to have been prescribed psychiatric medicine if they lived in areas with high nitrogen dioxide concentrations, and research published a few months ago linked lifetime exposure to air pollution with depression and anxiety in 12-year-olds living in Ohio.
According to the scientist magazine a study carried out a couple of years ago by researchers at ISGlobal compared different regions of the brain and found that some areas might be particularly susceptible. The team reported that schoolchildren exposed to high PAH levels showed particularly stunted growth in the caudate nucleus, a region deep within the brain that is linked to behavioral disorders such as ADHD. This region already generates relatively high levels of reactive oxygen species, explains study coauthor Marion mortems, now at INSERM in France. “The hypothesis is that . . . the local mechanism to fight the oxidative stress is completely overwhelmed by another intrusion of oxidative stress provoked by the exposure to PAH.”
In the other hand, the biological factors involved in smoking relate to how the brain responds to nicotine. When a person smokes, a dose of nicotine reaches the brain within about ten seconds. At first, nicotine improves mood and concentration, decreases anger and stress, relaxes muscles and reduces appetite.
Therefore, secondhand smoke also has a direct, measurable impact on the brain similar to what’s seen in the person doing the smoking, according to a new study. The finding highlights the importance of limiting exposure to secondhand smoke in cars and other enclosed spaces. In fact, tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death nationwide. People who smoke are up to 6 times more likely than non-smokers to suffer a heart attack. Tobacco is also one of the strongest cancer-causing agents. Up to 90% of lung cancer deaths are attributed to smoking.
However, the smoker isn’t the only one harmed by cigarette smoke. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 50,000 deaths per year can be attributed to secondhand smoke. A Surgeon General’s Report in 2006 concluded that secondhand smoke causes heart disease and lung cancer in nonsmoking adults. It also causes serious health conditions in children, including sudden infant death syndrome, respiratory infections and more severe asthma.
References:
https://www.the-scientist.com/features/air-pollution-may-damage-peoples-brains-66473
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-secondhand-smoke-affects-brain
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