A worldwide project called NeuroNano seeks to explore the role of human-engineered nanoparticles found in sunscreen and in an additive in some diesel fuels, investigating their connection to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
The study being conducted at the Biomedical Sciences Institute in Coleraine aims to better understand the ability of toxic nanoparticles entering the body intravenously or via lungs to reach the brain. Nanoparticles found in the chemicals titanium dioxide and cerium dioxide will be looked at specifically.
The brain is highly vulnerable to long term low-dose toxicity and lacks efficient clearance mechanisms to remove nanoparticles that may lodge there. The research carries significant implications in the growing concern about neurodegenerative disease.
