Scientists and researchers have long known that even moderate exposure to air pollution can compromise respiratory, immune and nervous systems, but new findings provide a strong link between air quality and the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Research has found increased levels of toxic magnetite nanoparticles from air pollution in brain tissue of deceased Alzheimer’s patients, creating a link between pollution and the disease. Researchers have also discovered that air pollution significantly increases the risk of Alzheimer’s, making it vital that air purification become part of indoor air quality improvements.

The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and recounts the autopsy of brains from 37 people in the United Kingdom and Mexico who had Alzheimer’s Disease.  The toxic magnetite nanoparticles were formed from material in combustion sources, like car exhaust or burning fuel. According to researchers, this abnormal amount of metal in the brain is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s Disease.

According to previously published research, air pollution has been linked to dementia in older individuals; the research into the magnetite nanoparticles provides further proof that air pollution in industrialized areas can lead to more brain disease cases.

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