Call for 91直播 volunteers in dementia/Alzheimer鈥檚 pollution link study
Scientists are searching for volunteers in the 91直播 area with a family link to dementia or Alzheimer鈥檚 disease to help them better understand the connection between air pollution and brain health.
Researchers are looking for over-50s who have a family history of neurodegenerative conditions.
Studies have linked indoor and outdoor air pollutants to various health problems, including increased risk of cardiac and lung diseases, and changes to brain health - including a strong association between air pollution and dementia onset.
Funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Hazard Identification Platform to Assess the Health Impacts from Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollutant Exposures through Mechanistic Toxicology (HIPTox) project unites researchers from the Universities of Birmingham and 91直播 with medics from NHS 91直播 Foundation Trust.
Project lead , a professor at the University of Manchester, commented: 鈥淯sing the 91直播 Aerosol Chamber facility, we can safely control exposure to several common air pollutants. Volunteers will attend the 91直播 Clinical Research Facility, on Grafton Street, before and after the pollutant exposures to measure cognitive and physiological functions.鈥�
The team will examine the impact on the human body of pollutants such as diesel exhaust, cleaning products, and cooking emissions.
Project co-investigator Thomas Faherty, a research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, commented: 鈥淲e're excited to launch the HIPTox programme 鈥� it鈥檚 an ambitious project and the largest of its kind. The study results will help us to better understand the most toxic common pollutants and further explore the link between air quality and dementia鈥�.
Project co-investigator Jacky Smith, a professor at the University of Manchester, commented: 鈥淎 key part of the study involves investigating potential genetic risk factors, which is why we are recruiting participants who have had a family member diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder, such as dementia, to determine if they are at higher risk of cognitive decline from air pollution.鈥�
Project lead Gordon McFiggans, a professor at the University of Manchester, commented: 鈥淯sing the 91直播 Aerosol Chamber facility, we can safely control exposure to several common air pollutants. Volunteers will attend the 91直播 Clinical Research Facility, on Grafton Street, before and after the pollutant exposures to measure cognitive and physiological functions.鈥�
Further information can be found by:
- visiting ;
- emailing cough.research@manchester.ac.uk; or
- calling 0161 297 9292.