英语科普：长期暴露于污染空气中会损坏大脑结构.docxVIP

Air pollution, even at moderate levels, has long been recognized as a factor in raising the risk of stroke. A new study led by scientists from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine suggests that long-term exposure can cause damage to brain structures and impair1 cognitive2 function in middle-aged3 and older adults. Writing in the May 2015 issue of Stroke, researchers who studied more than 900 participants of the Framingham Heart Study found evidence of smaller brain structure and of covert4 brain infarcts, a type of silent ischemic stroke resulting from a blockage6 in the blood vessels7 supplying the brain. The study evaluated how far participants lived from major roadways and used satellite imagery to assess prolonged exposure to ambient fine particulate8 matter, particles with a diameter of 2.5 millionth of a meter, referred to as PM2.5. These particles come from a variety of sources, including power plants, factories, trucks and automobiles9 and the burning of wood. They can travel deeply into the lungs and have been associated in other studies with increased numbers of hospital admissions for cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes. This is one of the first studies to look at the relationship between ambient air pollution and brain structure, says Elissa Wilker, ScD, a researcher in the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Our findings suggest that air pollution is associated with insidious10 effects on structural11 brain aging, even in dementia- and stroke-free individuals. Study participants were at least 60 years old and were free of dementia and stroke. The evaluation12 included total cerebral13 brain volume, a marker of age-associated brain atrophy14; hippocampal volume, which reflect changes in the area of the brain that controls memory; white matter hyperintensity volume, which can be used as a measure of pathology and aging; and covert brain infarc