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Diesel fumes 'may cause long-term brain damage'
Last updated at 14:52pm on 11.03.08
Nanoparticles from diesel exhaust are able to travel from the nose and lodge in the brain
Cars with diesel engines have long been vaunted as the greener and cleaner alternative compared to petrol-run vehicles, with lower C02 emissions and better fuel efficiency.
But European researchers have found they could be causing long-term damage to the brain.
Inhaling diesel exhaust triggers a stress response in the brain that may have long-term effects on how it functions, Dutch experts said today.
Previous studies have found very small particles of soot, or nanoparticles, are able to travel from the nose and lodge in the brain. But this is the first time researchers have demonstrated a change in brain activity.
"We can only speculate what these effects may mean for the chronic exposure to air pollution encountered in busy cities where the levels of such soot particles can be very high," said lead researcher Paul Borm from Zuyd University.
"It is conceivable that the long-term effects of exposure to traffic nanoparticles may interfere with normal brain function and information processing."
Borm and his team put 10 volunteers in a room filled with exhaust from a diesel engine for one hour and monitored their brain waves with an electroencephalograph (EEG).
The level of fumes was similar to that found on a busy road or in a garage.
After about 30 minutes, brain wave patterns displayed a stress response, suggesting changes in information processing in the brain cortex.
Further research is needed to determine the clinical effect of this stress and whether it has any long-term impact on verbal and non-verbal intelligence or memory abilities.
Still, the result appears to be another black mark for nanoparticles found in traffic fumes, which have already been linked with increased rates of respiratory and cardiovascular disease.
The study was published in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology.
Reader views (2)
Since diesel engines can run on cooking oil it begs the question of whether a kitchen full of cooking oil fumes can produce the same results!
Its got to the point where everything we use for driving, cooking, eating smoking (cigars, pipes) etc is harmful to our health. Maybe we should all just become cloistered beings, do nothing, go no where!
- Tony, London, UK
Great, yet another 'justification' for further 'green taxes' on the motorist and haulage industry.
- Scott, London, UK
