Researchers from Lancaster, Oxford, and Manchester Universities have discovered that the mineral magnetite (a toxic mineral linked to the production of free radicals which are associated with Alzheimer’s Disease) can travel into the human brain and may then trigger Alzheimer’s disease. There are around 800,000 people in Britain suffering from dementia (mostly Alzheimer’s) and that figure is expected to rise as the population grows older.
The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found microscopic spheres of the mineral in the brains of 37 people in Manchester and Mexico who had suffered neurodegenerative disease. Although magnetite has been found before in the brains of people who died of Alzheimer’s disease, scientists thought it occurred naturally. But these tiny balls spotted by the scientists had a fused surface and this suggested they had been formed during extreme heat, like in a car engine.
From the article:
“Magnetite – a form of iron oxide – is known to be produced in car engines – particularly diesel engines which can emit up to 22 times more particulates than petrol engines – as well as when brakes are used, both by cars and trains. It can also be produced by open fires and poorly fitted stoves.”
“Our results indicate that magnetite nanoparticles in the atmosphere can enter the human brain where they might pose a risk to human health, including conditions such as Alzheimer’s'” said lead author Professor Barbara Maher, of Lancaster University.”
The particles the researchers found were very similar to magnetite nanospheres found in the airborne pollution of urban settings. While more study needs to be done, these findings open up new avenues for research into potential environmental risk factors.
No one had ever considered that these particles could reach the brain but this research suggests they can be inhaled and enter the brain through the olfactory nerve, which takes information about smells to the brain.
More from the article:
“Prof Anthony Seaton, Emeritus professor of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the University of Aberdeen said: “This is an important study and adds to the body of evidence that the combustion of fossil fuels has widespread toxic effects on our health.
“The solution to this is literally in our own hands as we take hold of the steering wheel.”
We will update you as more information becomes available. But for now, if you have loved ones suffering from dementia, read up on the study showing that coconut oil may alleviate and/or regress cognitive deficits associated with aging and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s.
Source: The Telegraph
