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NEW RESEARCH IS RAISING IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EFFECT OF AIR POLLUTION, NOT ONLY ON OUR LUNGS, BUT ON OUR BRAINS. WHAT ONE STUDY CALLED "AN URGENT PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN." THE ISSUE, HOW MUCH AND TO WHAT EXTENT ARE AIRBORN CONTAMINANTS LINKED TO NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES SUCH AS ALZHEIMER'S? JEFFREY BROWN HAS MORE. >> RESEARCH IN THIS AREA HAS BEEN BUILDING FOR YEARS WITH MANY LINKS NOW SEEN, BUT MUCH STILL UNCERTAIN. DR. DEBORAH COREY-SLECHTA FOCUSES HER STUDIES ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND THE BRAIN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER, AND SHE JOINS NOW. THANKS FOR BEING WITH US. YOU KNOW, YOU AND OTHERS SEE A GROWING PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE HERE. EXPLAIN THE CONCERN. I MEAN, HOW DOES AIR POLLUTION IMPACT THE BRAIN AND POSSIBLY LEAD TO NEUROLOGICAL DISEASE?

DEBORAH

WELL, WE'VE KNOWN THAT AIR POLLUTION HAS EFFECTS ON THE HEART AND THE LUNG FOR A VERY LONG TIME, BUT IT'S REALLY ONLY BEEN IN ABOUT THE PAST TEN YEARS THAT ATTENTION HAS BEEN DIRECTED TO ITS EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN. AND OVER THAT PERIOD OF TIME, THERE'S BEEN A GROWING BODY OF SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE SHOWING ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN EXPOSURES TO AIR POLLUTION AND A REAL WIDE VARIETY OF NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES AND DISORDERS. IT HAS INCLUDED NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS LIKE AUTISM, ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER, AS WELL AS NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES LIKE ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, PARKINSON'S DISEASE, ETC. HOW THAT'S HAPPENING, WE STILL DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND. BUT THE FACT THAT IT SEEMS TO HAVE SUCH AN IMPACT ON SUCH A VARIETY OF NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES AND DISORDERS SUGGESTS THAT INSTEAD OF ACTING ON WHAT ARE THE REAL UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH OF THOSE DISEASES AND DISORDERS, AIR POLLUTION IS ACTING ON THE FEATURES THAT ARE SHARED ACROSS THESE NEUROLOGICAL

DISEASES AND DISORDERS. JEFFREY

WELL, SO TO BE CLEAR AT THIS STAGE, IT'S A QUESTION OF ASSOCIATION OF POLLUTION TO NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEMS, BUT NOT YET CLEAR CAUSATION. IS THAT FAIR?

DEBORAH

I THINK THERE IS A GROWING BODY OF EXPERIMENTAL DATA LINKING OR DIRECTLY SHOWING CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS. AIR POLLUTION IS A VERY COMPLICATED EXPOSURE. IT'S REALLY A MIXTURE OF GASES AND PARTICLES, AND THOSE PARTICLES CARRY OTHER TOXINS ON THEM, METALS AND ORGANICS THAT GET INTO THE BRAIN. AND SO WHAT WE REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND, ONE OF THE THINGS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND IS WHAT ARE THE CONTAMINANTS THAT ARE GETTING INTO THE BRAIN VIA THOSE AIR POLLUTION PARTICLES THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES AND DISORDERS?

JEFF

NOW, AS YOU'RE AS YOU'RE STUDYING THIS, WHO DO YOU CONSIDER MOST AT RISK, WHETHER IT'S BY AGE OR BY LIVING CONDITIONS OR GEOGRAPHY? WHO ARE YOU MOST WORRIED ABOUT?

DEBORAH

WELL, I THINK WE DON'T FULLY HAVE THE ANSWERS TO THAT YET. SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE DON'T YET UNDERSTAND WITH RESPECT TO, FOR EXAMPLE, NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS IS WHAT IS THE PERIOD OF GREATEST VULNERABILITY? IS IT PRECONCEPTION OR IS IT IN UTERO, FIRST, SECOND, THIRD TRIMESTER, EARLY BRAIN DEVELOPMENT? WE DON'T KNOW THE ANSWERS. AND WITH RESPECT TO NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES, ONE HAS TO REMEMBER THAT THIS IS ACTUALLY A LIFETIME EXPOSURE. ARE NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES BEING CAUSED BY A CUMULATIVE EXPOSURE OVER THE LIFETIME, OR IS IT EXPOSURES THAT ARE OCCURRING LATER AS MAYBE THE BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER BEGINS TO BREAK DOWN, GETS A LITTLE BIT LEAKY? WE DON'T HAVE ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS AS OF YET. WE REALLY NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CONTAMINANTS ARE THAT ARE IN AIR POLLUTION THAT ARE CAUSING THESE, BECAUSE THEN WE COULD GO AND BASICALLY SET REGULATORY POLICIES THAT MIGHT ASSIST IN PREVENTING THOSE

EXPOSURES. JEFF

ARE THERE THINGS YOU DO ADVISE TO INDIVIDUALS TO, IN TERMS OF BEHAVIOR OR CARE IN THIS REGARD?

DEBORAH

WELL, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S MUCH AN INDIVIDUAL CAN DO. THIS IS REALLY GOING TO BE AT A NATIONAL LEVEL. WE DO REGULATE RIGHT NOW LEVELS OF AIR POLLUTION WITH SPECIFICALLY WHAT WE CALL PM 2.5 AND PM10. THOSE ARE PARTICLE SIZES BUT WE KNOW THAT IT'S ACTUALLY THE SMALLEST PARTICLE SIZE, THE ULTRAFINE PARTICLES, THE NANOPARTICLES THAT ARE THE MOST PROBLEMATIC. THEY ARE THE WHAT CARRY THOSE TOXICANTS INTO THE BODY AND WE DON'T REGULATE THOSE RIGHT NOW. WE DON'T HAVE A SYSTEM IN PLACE TO FULLY ASSESS THE DATA OF THOSE KINDS OF EXPOSURES. AND SO A LOT MORE EFFORT IS GOING TO BE NEEDED TO ADDRESS THIS ULTRAFINE PARTICLE COMPONENT.

JEFF

DEBORAH CORY-SLECHTA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

DEBORAH

THANK YOU.