Exposure to air pollution can increase the risk of autism

Researchers at the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) annual meeting in Chicago recently detailed the impact that constant exposure to air pollution may have on the developing brain.  A a series of mouse models have suggested that constant inhalation of air pollution may lead to enlargement of the brain’s ventricles – a hallmark of neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism.

According to the organizer of the panel, Dr. Deborah Cory-Slechta, air pollution is a cocktail of various metals and gases, often consisting of many different sized particles.  The larger particles typically do not pose a risk to the body, as they are often coughed up and disposed, but the very small particles are the ones that health experts say pose the biggest health threat.

Cory-Slechta, professor in the department of environmental medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, told FoxNews.com.  “And the reason is because those go all the way down into the bottom of the lung.  Once they get to the bottom of the lung, they can be absorbed into the blood stream.”

Cory-Slechta said she initially started looking at air pollution in relation to the brain by accident – after some of her colleagues sent her the brains of mice that had been exposed to moderate amounts of air pollution. The researchers found that all had varying degrees of damage – but most notably, the lateral ventricles were significantly dilated.  However, when these ventricles are enlarged, it often indicates a very poor prognosis for central nervous system development.

Ventriculomegaly – the enlargement of the ventricles – is also associated with a range of other brain diseases, such as bipolar disorder and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as a number of birth defects in children.  Cory-Slectha noted that this brain damage was largely seen in the male rodents – an interesting finding given that both autism and schizophrenia are mainly male-oriented conditions.

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