Air Pollution May Damage Brain, Heart
(HealthScoutNews, 4/16/03)

According to Dr. Lilian Calderon-Garciduenas of the University of North Carolina and colleagues, air pollution inflames the respiratory tract and breaks down the blood-brain barrier, so that tiny particles and metals can permeate the nervous system and brain. When investigators exposed dogs to the polluted air of Mexico City, the animals developed damaged brain cell genes. In a separate study at the Gage Institute of the University of Toronto, healthy volunteers exposed to air pollution in a lab exhibited a sharp increase in blood levels of the peptide, endothelin, which can inhibit blood flow. This mechanism may explain why air pollution can precipitate a cardiac episode or death in someone who has a pre-existing heart problem.