- A new study has established a link between air pollution and an increased risk of developing dementia, particularly Lewy body dementia.
- Researchers suggest that fine airborne particles, known as PM2.5, contribute to the disease by propagating toxic clumps of alpha-synuclein protein in the brain.
- The findings are supported by analysis of US Medicare patient records and confirmed through experiments on mice, which showed PM2.5 exposure led to nerve cell death and cognitive decline.
- Lewy body dementia is identified as the second most common form of the disease after Alzheimer's, described as a 'devastating and increasingly prevalent neurodegenerative disorder'.
- Lead investigator Dr Xiaobo Mao stated that air pollution is a modifiable risk factor, calling for concerted efforts to improve air quality through emission reductions and other measures, asserting that 'clean air policies are brain health policies'.
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