Our laboratory is interested in the chronic effects of exposure to air pollutants both indoors and outdoors in clinically healthy children. A crucial aspect is the role of cytokine imbalance in the respiratory tract, and cardiovascular pathology and on systemic effects.

We are also interested in the role outdoor and indoor air pollutants-specially fine and ultrafine particulate matter, and lipopolysaccharides could be playing in the brain pathology we have described for both dogs and humans chronically exposed to air pollutants.

The canine chronic brain inflammation and the observation of the acceleration of Alzheimer’s disease-like pathology, were the basis to explore the brains of subjects residing in the same areas. In our most recent work we showed that the frontal cortex and hippocampus of neurologically and cognitively intact lifelong residents of cities with severe air pollution exhibit evidence of chronic inflammation and neuronal and astrocytic accumulation of the 42 amino acid form of ß amyloid (Aß42).

These findings suggest that exposure to severe urban air pollution is associated with brain inflammation and amyloid deposits, causes of neuronal dysfunction that precede the appearance of neuritic plaque formation and neurofibrillary tangles, hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.