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Research has revealed that the hearts of urban youth contain billions of toxic particles of air pollution.
Even in the youngest subject of the study, who was three years old, damage was observed in the cells of the critical pumping muscles of the organ that contained the tiny particles. The study suggests that these iron-rich particles, produced by vehicles and the industry, could be the underlying cause of the long-established statistical link between dirty air and heart disease.
Scientists have said that the abundance of nanoparticles could be a serious public health problem and that particulate air pollution needs to be urgently reduced. According to the World Health Organization, more than 90% of the world's population lives with toxic air, which has declared it a "public health emergency".
Scientists recognized some uncertainties in their research, but Professor Barbara Maher of Lancaster University said, "This is a preliminary study in a way, but the results and implications were too important to not disseminate information. "
Maher and his colleagues discovered in 2016 that the same nanoparticles were present in the human brain and were associated with Alzheimer – type damage, another disease related to air pollution.
Although all ages have been affected, Maher is said to be particularly concerned about children.
"For the very young, it is now clear that the heart and brain are damaged at a very early stage," she said. "We have a likely candidate [particle] to be able to access both organs, with pathological evidence showing that damage is occurring. "
A recent comprehensive study concluded that air pollution can damage all organs and virtually all cells in the human body because tiny particles are inhaled, enter the bloodstream and are transported throughout the body. Much of the evidence of harm, ranging from diabetes to intelligence reduction, to increasing the number of miscarriages, is epidemiological because adverse experiences on people are contrary to the general health of people. ;ethics. But a study conducted in 2018 revealed particles of air pollution in the placentas of women who had given birth.
The head of the World Health Organization has described air pollution as "new tobacco". More than 90% of the world's population suffers from toxic air and research is increasingly revealing the profound impact on the health of the population, especially children.
The developing organs of children and babies are the most exposed to the risks of toxic air, with 300 million people living in areas where toxic fumes are six times higher than international guidelines.
A comprehensive global review revealed that air pollution can damage all organs and virtually all cells in the human body. It causes problems ranging from heart and lung diseases to diabetes and dementia, as well as liver problems and bladder cancer to broken bones and damaged skin. Systemic damage is the result of pollutants causing inflammation that then invades the body and ultrafine particles transported around the body by the blood.
In the United Kingdom, while deaths from air pollution have halved over the past four decades, most urban areas are experiencing levels of illicit air pollution. In the United Kingdom, one in 20 deaths is still attributable to small particle pollution alone.
Damian Carrington, Editor of the environment
This new research is the first direct evidence that iron-rich nanoparticles can cause heart disease. Laboratory tests have already shown that tiny particles seriously damage human cells and are an important element of roadside air pollution.
Maher said, "Introducing an abundance of iron-rich nanoparticles into the subcellular components of the muscle tissue of the heart is not where you want them to sit. They are inside the mitochondria, which are damaged and appear abnormal. Mitochondria are your source of energy, making sure your heart pumps efficiently. "
Mark Miller, an expert on the cardiovascular effects of air pollution at the University of Edinburgh but not part of the research, said: "Although the study involves uncertainties, it stresses at how important it is to better understand air pollution can cause damage to different areas of the body.
"More efforts are needed to reduce vehicle particulate emissions, including removing the number of vehicles on the road by encouraging people to walk and cycle on short trips."
The research, peer reviewed and published in the journal Environmental Research, analyzed the cardiac tissue of 63 young people who died as a result of a road accident but did not experience any trauma to the chest. They lived in Mexico City, where the air pollution is high, and were on average 25 years old.
The research was conducted in two main parts: calculating the number of iron-rich nanoparticles present; and looking at their location in the tissue and the associated damage. The number of particles found was between 2 and 22 billion per gram of dried tissue; and their presence was two to ten times higher among Mexico City residents than among the nine control subjects who lived in less polluted places.
The team's medical scientists reported that "exposure to [nanoparticles] seems to be directly associated with early and significant cardiac involvement.
Maher said the results were relevant for all countries: "There is absolutely no reason to expect this to be the case in another city." Based on previous work, the particles could also carry other contaminants. "We can imagine that these nanoparticles are loaded with a toxic mixture."
Iron-rich nanoparticles begin as molten droplets produced by fuel combustion, and then rapidly cool to form molten-surface spheres. The particles present in the heart tissue had these characteristics rather than small iron-rich magnetite crystals, known to occur naturally in at least one organ, the brain.
The technique used to locate nanoparticles in the heart tissue could not be used to measure their composition. Instead, scientists separated the particles from the tissues to determine their composition and magnetic content, and then used the average particle size and magnetism to estimate the total number.
They said they wanted to confirm the composition of the particles in situ in the cells, but that would require the use of expensive equipment, and Maher said they had not received no funding for the work. "We have to do this cheaply. It's madness.
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