Neurological effects in association with in utero and early life exposure to particulate air pollution. (R-2803)

Cardiorespiratory effects and mechanisms of fine particulate air pollution have been largely investigated. In contrast, little is known regarding neurological effects, with only some preliminary evidence. First, we study in a birth cohort neurocognitive measures of development (motor development, verbal and nonverbal IQ, behavioral development) till the age of three in association with particulate and traffic related air pollution during different exposure windows (in utero and during first years of life). In this cohort other neurotoxic pollutants have been measured in cord blood and information on possible effect-modifiers such as mother IQ, social economic status and the intake of essential fatty acids has been collected which allows us to study the effects of fine particulate air pollution independently of the other factors. Second, we correlate gene expression of genes playing a role in neurological development and inflammation in white blood cell RNA and placental tissue RNA to measure pollutants in cord blood and estimate exposure to fine particulate air pollution during pregnancy to study the associations in molecular epidemiological context to understand better the potential mechanisms. The proposed approach gain deeper insight into a newly proposed target organ of air pollution during a susceptible period of life.

Keywords:particulate air pollution

Disciplines:Biological sciences