From: hound23x@gmail.com   
      
   Air Pollution Could Affect Cognitive Development In Children    
      
      
      
      
        
   Children living in cities are likely to develop brain-related health problems   
   because of their exposure to air pollution, says Dr Lilian Calde   
   on-Garciduenas and her team from University of Montana. Lifetime exposure of   
   children to pollution of    
   concentration above the advised current US standards are at a high risk of   
   developing neurodegenerative changes, brain inflammation and even Parkinson's   
   and Alzheimer's diseases, warns the study.      
      
   Healthy children who lived in highly polluted environment carried the gene   
   apolipoprotein e4 allele, the gene considered to increase Alzheimer's disease   
   risk in a person, said the researchers. They also added that diminished   
   cognitive responses were seen    
   in children carrying gene apolipoprotein e4 allele than children carrying gene   
   apolipoprotein e3 allele, explained the researchers.    
      
   Eight million children living in the Mexico City are exposed to serious   
   environmental pollution, including high levels of fine particulate matter   
   since birth, said the team of  researchers. The researchers divided the   
   children of Mexico City into two    
   categories that included but not limited to age, sex, education and   
   socio-economic status. Children carrying e3 and e4 allele under each category   
   were compared, as a result of which 3 significant changes were observed.      
      
      
   Children with e4 allele had short term memory problems, changes in the key   
   metabolites in the brain and Intelligent Quotient levels about 10 points   
   lesser than the children carrying the e3 allele. The results suggested that   
   there is an increased risk of    
   Alzheimer's disease in children carrying e4 allele if they continued to reside   
   in such highly polluted areas, said Calderon-Garciduenas.    
      
   The researcher raised concern on children studying in the Mexico City's   
   unprivileged public schools, and she also added that they would not have   
   developed the cognitive skills to understand the impacts of pollution. An IQ   
   difference of 10 points might    
   have a negative impact on educational and social issues, said the researchers.   
   It is to be noted that Alzheimer's disease develops about 20 years prior to   
   the expression of the first symptom, said Dr Robert Stern of the Alzheimer's   
   disease Center in a    
   recent study.      
      
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   saranya@ibtimes.com.au    
      
      
      
   http://au.ibtimes.com/air-pollution-could-affect-cognitive-devel   
   pment-children-1421425   
      
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