Scientists from Georgia Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Columbia University have collaborated to investigate the relationship between air pollution and dementia. Their research, published in the journal Science, provides new insights into how fine particulate matter from sources such as industrial emissions, vehicle exhaust, wildfires, and wood burning can contribute to Lewy body dementia.
The study identifies a biological mechanism by which small particle pollution leads to toxic protein clumps that damage nerve cells in the brain. Pengfei Liu, assistant professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and co-author of the study, stated: “Epidemiological studies have suggested a strong link between air pollution and dementia, but what sets this study apart is that we also provide a convincing biological mechanism. This collaborative work shows that fine particulate matter from different geographic regions consistently triggers a specific stain of misfolded protein that drives Lewy body dementia.”
The findings are expected to help scientists and policymakers better understand how to prevent this type of dementia, which is one of the most common forms worldwide.
Georgia Tech’s research team included Rodney Weber (professor), Minhan Park (postdoctoral fellow), Bin Bai (graduate student), and Ma Cristine Faye Denna (graduate student). Weber emphasized the interdisciplinary nature of the work: “Figuring out how exposure to atmospheric aerosols might be linked to dementia, and what mechanisms are involved, is a complex and challenging problem — and as this study shows, it takes a large team with many different areas of expertise.”
