Nitrogen Oxides Induced Neurodegeneration as Examined by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Air pollutant gases include ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, organic compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and endotoxins, and metals [1]. Nitrogen is released during fuel combustion and combines with oxygen atoms in the atmosphere to produce nitric oxide and other nitrogen oxides, which can be inhaled by the upper respiratoy tract. Nitrogen oxides are a source of neurotoxin; thus, minimizing exposure and detecting its levels in the brain is pertinent. Nitrogen oxides have been shown to be associated with dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). NO2 inhalation by C57BL/6J mice with amyloid precursor protein and presenilin 1 mutations aggravated β-amyloid accumulation, caused deterioration of spatial learning and memory and induced pathological abnormalities and cognitive defects related to AD compared to naïve control mice [2]. Furthermore, nitrogen oxides were associated with increased dementia risk in two clinical cohort studies [3]. One was a 15-year study of 1806 healthy men and women in Sweden [4], and another was a 10-year study of nearly 30,000 individuals in Taiwan [5].