Dec 26, 2005

Air Pollution Causes Atherosclerosis In Laboratory Mice

Experimental results with laboratory mice illustrate a direct cause-and-effect relationship between contact with fine particle air pollution and development of atherosclerosis, usually known as hardening of the arteries.

Mice that were provided with a high-fat diet and exposed to air with fine particles had 1.5 times more plaque production than mice provided with the same diet and exposed to fresh filtered air. The study results are published in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study may explain why people living in highly polluted areas have a higher risk of heart disease.

These results have significant implications for the long-term impact of fine particle air pollution on urban populations.

Fine particle pollution consists of microscopic particles of dust and soot less than 2.5 microns in diameter which penetrates deep into the respiratory tract, diminishing lung function and deteriorating conditions like asthma and bronchitis

"The average particle exposure over the course of the study was 15 micrograms per cubic meter, which is characteristic of the particle concentrations that urban area residents would be exposed to, and well below the federal air quality standard of 65 micrograms per cubic meter in a 24-hour period," said Sanjay Rajagopalan, M.D., a vascular medicine specialist and cardiologist with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and senior author of the study.

Daniel      

Do You Read All Of Our Cancer Blogs?

Do you read all of the blogs published by medicineworld.org? Many of our bloggers are busy keeping you updated on the various health related topics. We publish the following blogs at this time.

Cancer blog: I manage the cancer blog with lots of help and support form other bloggers. Through this cancer blog my friends and I try to bring stories of hope for patients with cancer. The cancer blog often republishes important blog posts from other cancer related blogs at Medicineworld.org. If you are searching for a blog that covers wide variety of cancer topics, this may be the one for you.

Breast cancer blog: Breast cancer blog is run by Emily and other bloggers and they bring you the latest stories, news and events that are related to breast cancer. Increasing awareness about breast cancer among women and in the general population is the main goal of this breast cancer blog.

Lung cancer blog: Lung cancer blog is managed by Scott with the help of other bloggers. Through this blog Scott and his friends constantly remind the readers about the dangers of smoking. It's a never-ending struggle against this miserable disease with which a social stigma of smoking is associated.

Colon cancer blog: Colon cancer blog is run by Sue and other bloggers. Sue brings a personal touch to the colon cancer blog since her mother died of colon cancer few years ago. She writes about stories, research news and advances in treatment related to colon cancer.

Prostate cancer blog: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men. American Cancer Society estimates that over 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer occur in the United state every year. This important blog about prostate cancer is run by Mark and other bloggers. This blog brings news, stories, and other personal observations related to prostate cancer.

Medicineworld.org publishes a diabetes watch blog and this blog is run by JoAnn other bloggers. This diabetes watch blog brings you the latest in the field of diabetes. This includes personal stories, advances in diagnosis and treatment, and other observations about diabetes. Improving awareness about diabetes is an important mission of this group.

Janet      

Heart disease
About 13 million Americans (about 7 percent of the total population) suffer from coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in American men and women amounting a staggering 20 percent of all causes of death. About half of all deaths related to cardiovascular diseases occur from coronary artery disease. Through this heart watch blog we will have our humble contribution towards making men and women aware of the risks of heart diseases.