Air pollution can drive devastating forms of dementia, research suggests

Airborne particles cause toxic clumps of proteins in brain that are hallmarks of Lewy body dementia, study indicates

Fine-particulate air pollution can drive devastating forms of dementia by triggering the formation of toxic clumps of protein that destroy nerve cells as they spread through the brain, research suggests.

Exposure to the airborne particles causes proteins in the brain to misfold into the clumps, which are hallmarks of Lewy body dementia, the third most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.