Study finds diesel exhaust alters brain activity
Diesel exhaust fumes could 'stress' the brain, study suggests
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Tuesday, 11, Mar 2008 03:46
Inhaling exhaust fumes is not only unpleasant but could also alter brain activity, a new study has found.
Previous studies discovered that very small particles inhaled from polluted air can end up in the brain.
The latest research is the first however to demonstrate that inhalation alters brain activity.
Dutch researchers found that after 30 minutes of exposure to diesel fuel the brain gives a stress response.
They placed ten volunteers in a room filled with either clean air or exhaust from a diesel engines for an hour and monitored their brain activity with an electroencephalograph (EEG) during the exposure and for an hour and a half after they left the room.
The concentration of diesel was set to the highest level that people might encounter in the environment or at work, for example on a busy road or in a garage.
After 30 minutes the diesel exhaust began to affect brain activity. EEG data indicated changed information processing in the brain cortex, which continued to increase even after the volunteers left the room.
Lead researcher Paul Borm from Zuvd University said the impact on the brain is likely to be due to nanoparticles.
"These may penetrate to the brain and affect brain function," he said.
"We can only speculate what these effects may mean for the chronic exposure to air pollution encountered in busy cities where the levels of such soot particles can be very high."
Dr Borm added: "It is conceivable that the long-term effects of exposure to traffic nanoparticles may interfere with normal brain function and information processing.
"Further studies are necessary to explore this effect, and to assess the relationship between the amount of exposure to particles and the brain's response and, and investigate the clinical implications of these novel findings."