Air Pollution

Question 1

What was the 6 cities study?

Answer 1

1993 Dockery et al - associated air pollution and mortality in 6 US cities.
Survival probability much decreased in areas with high []s of FINE PARTICLES e.g. Steubenville (steel production area) compared to low []s in Portage.

Question 2

How much of a problem is air pollution in the UK?

Answer 2

COMEAP - 2010
poor air quality across UK caused equivalent of 29,000 deaths due to fine particulate matter (2008)
Average loss of life ~11.5 Y.
Air quality is second biggest cause second to smoking (89,000).

Question 3

what are the pulmonary responses to ozone.

Answer 3

Decreased lung capacity
Increased flow resistance 
Increased permeability
Inflammation
Increased bronchial reactivity.

Question 4

what does bronchoaleolar lavage show about RTLF?

Answer 4

Sample, dilute and analyse using HPLC.
Lower resp tract fluid –> abundant in GSH and AA
Nasal cavity fluid –> abundant in UA.

Question 5

What is lung lining fluid?

Answer 5

Secretions from underlying lung and resident immune cells.

Question 6

How do we think particulates are damaging?

Answer 6

Contain large no of metals including TMs capable of redox cycling.
(Phagocytic cells exposed to ambient particles from different urban settings –> OS correlated with particle’s iron content).

Question 7

Outline the main points of the free radical theory of pollution.

Answer 7

• Pollutants in air - many = FRs
• OS initiates inflammatory cell influx which generate & release large quantities of free radicals.
• FRs attack local tissue components as no invading organisms to kill.