Researchers have been awarded £500,000 to investigate the link between air pollution and dementia as they seek to understand how air pollution particles enter the brain. There is increasing evidence that exposure to air pollution increases Alzheimer’s risk but the mechanisms underlying the link are unknown. The funding from Alzheimer’s Research UK and Race Against Dementia was announced on Clean Air Day (15 June), and it will allow Warwick University’s Dr Jake Brooks to study the properties of the particles and how they interact with Alzheimer’s hallmark proteins. “There is a growing body of evidence that suggests air pollution could also be putting us at a greater risk of developing dementia, but we don’t know how this happens,” Dr Brooks said.
