TY - JOUR
T1 - Air pollution, cognitive deficits and brain abnormalities
T2 - A pilot study with children and dogs
AU - Calderón-Garcidueñas, Lilian
AU - Mora-Tiscareño, Antonieta
AU - Ontiveros, Esperanza
AU - Gómez-Garza, Gilberto
AU - Barragán-Mejía, Gerardo
AU - Broadway, James
AU - Chapman, Susan
AU - Valencia-Salazar, Gildardo
AU - Jewells, Valerie
AU - Maronpot, Robert R.
AU - Henríquez-Roldán, Carlos
AU - Pérez-Guillé, Beatriz
AU - Torres-Jardón, Ricardo
AU - Herrit, Lou
AU - Brooks, Diane
AU - Osnaya-Brizuela, Norma
AU - Monroy, Maria E.
AU - González-Maciel, Angelica
AU - Reynoso-Robles, Rafael
AU - Villarreal-Calderon, Rafael
AU - Solt, Anna C.
AU - Engle, Randall W.
PY - 2008/11
Y1 - 2008/11
N2 - Exposure to air pollution is associated with neuroinflammation in healthy children and dogs in Mexico City. Comparative studies were carried out in healthy children and young dogs similarly exposed to ambient pollution in Mexico City. Children from Mexico City (n: 55) and a low polluted city (n:18) underwent psychometric testing and brain magnetic resonance imaging MRI. Seven healthy young dogs with similar exposure to Mexico City air pollution had brain MRI, measurement of mRNA abundance of two inflammatory genes cyclooxygenase-2, and interleukin 1 β in target brain areas, and histopathological evaluation of brain tissue. Children with no known risk factors for neurological or cognitive disorders residing in a polluted urban environment exhibited significant deficits in a combination of fluid and crystallized cognition tasks. Fifty-six percent of Mexico City children tested showed prefrontal white matter hyperintense lesions and similar lesions were observed in dogs (57%). Exposed dogs had frontal lesions with vascular subcortical pathology associated with neuroinflammation, enlarged Virchow-Robin spaces, gliosis, and ultrafine particulate matter deposition. Based on the MRI findings, the prefrontal cortex was a target anatomical region in Mexico City children and its damage could have contributed to their cognitive dysfunction. The present work presents a groundbreaking, interdisciplinary methodology for addressing relationships between environmental pollution, structural brain alterations by MRI, and cognitive deficits/delays in healthy children.
AB - Exposure to air pollution is associated with neuroinflammation in healthy children and dogs in Mexico City. Comparative studies were carried out in healthy children and young dogs similarly exposed to ambient pollution in Mexico City. Children from Mexico City (n: 55) and a low polluted city (n:18) underwent psychometric testing and brain magnetic resonance imaging MRI. Seven healthy young dogs with similar exposure to Mexico City air pollution had brain MRI, measurement of mRNA abundance of two inflammatory genes cyclooxygenase-2, and interleukin 1 β in target brain areas, and histopathological evaluation of brain tissue. Children with no known risk factors for neurological or cognitive disorders residing in a polluted urban environment exhibited significant deficits in a combination of fluid and crystallized cognition tasks. Fifty-six percent of Mexico City children tested showed prefrontal white matter hyperintense lesions and similar lesions were observed in dogs (57%). Exposed dogs had frontal lesions with vascular subcortical pathology associated with neuroinflammation, enlarged Virchow-Robin spaces, gliosis, and ultrafine particulate matter deposition. Based on the MRI findings, the prefrontal cortex was a target anatomical region in Mexico City children and its damage could have contributed to their cognitive dysfunction. The present work presents a groundbreaking, interdisciplinary methodology for addressing relationships between environmental pollution, structural brain alterations by MRI, and cognitive deficits/delays in healthy children.
KW - Air pollution
KW - Brain MRI
KW - Children
KW - Dogs
KW - Endothelial pathology
KW - Fluid cognition
KW - Neuroinflammation
KW - Particulate matter PM
KW - Ultrafine PM
KW - White matter hyperintense lesions WML
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=54049130925&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.bandc.2008.04.008
DO - 10.1016/j.bandc.2008.04.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 18550243
AN - SCOPUS:54049130925
SN - 0278-2626
VL - 68
SP - 117
EP - 127
JO - Brain and Cognition
JF - Brain and Cognition
IS - 2
ER -
