Document Type
Article
Publication Title
BioMed Research International
Publication Date
2013
Volume
2013
Issue
Article 161687
Disciplines
Medical Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences | Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Abstract
Chronic exposure to particulate matter air pollution is known to cause inflammation leading to respiratory- and cardiovascularrelated sickness and death. Mexico City Metropolitan Area children exhibit an early brain imbalance in genes involved in oxidative stress, inflammation, and innate and adaptive immune responses. Early dysregulated neuroinflammation, brain microvascular damage, production of potent vasoconstrictors, and perturbations in the integrity of the neurovascular unit likely contribute to progressive neurodegenerative processes. The accumulation of misfolded proteins coincides with the anatomical distribution observed in the early stages of both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. We contend misfolding of hyperphosphorylated tau (HPrc), alpha-synuclein, and beta-amyloid could represent a compensatory early protective response to the sustained systemic and brain inflammation. However, we favor the view that the chronic systemic and brain dysregulated inflammation and the diffuse vascular damage contribute to the establishment of neurodegenerative processes with childhood clinical manifestations. Friend turns Foe early; therefore, implementation of neuroprotective measures to ameliorate or stop the inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes is warranted in exposed children. Epidemiological, cognitive, structural, and functional neuroimaging and mechanistic studies into the association between air pollution exposures and the development of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in children are of pressing importance for public health.
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/161687
Rights
© 2013 Lilian Calderon-Garciduenas et al.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Calderón-Garcidueñas, Lilian; Franco-Lira, Maricela; Mora-Tiscareño, Antonieta; Medina-Cortina, Humberto; Torres-Jardon, Ricardo; and Kavanaugh, Michael, "Early Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease Pathology in Urban Children: Friend versus Foe Responses—It Is Time to Face the Evidence" (2013). Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications. 23.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/biopharm_pubs/23