By Daily
Mail Reporter
Last updated at 7:24 PM on 24th August 2009
Man-made Nano Particles are in Sunscreen and who knows
what other products that essentially are filtered out of the bloodstream and
trapped by the brain.
The frightening possibility of Alzheimer's disease being
induced by suncream is being investigated by academics.
Millions of British holidaymakers use block to protect
their skin from the sun every year.
Now the
They are leading a groundbreaking three-year research
project into whether human engineered nanoparticles, such as those found in
sunscreen, can induce neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's.
It follows a 2003
study by British doctors that found some leading brands of sunscreen lotions
failed to stop the sun's damaging rays penetrating the skin.
They recommended
staying out of the sun or covering up when outside as the best way to protect
against skin cancer.
Professor Vyvyan
Howard, a pathologist and toxicologist, and Dr Christian Holster, an expert in
Alzheimer's, are conducting the latest research as part of a worldwide project
called NeuroNano.
The
Professor Howard
said: 'There is now firm evidence that some
engineered nanoparticles entering intravenously or via lungs can reach the
brains of small animals.
'Indeed they lodge in almost all parts of the brain and
there are no efficient clearance mechanisms to remove them once there.'
There were also suggestions that nanoscale particles arising from urban
pollution had reached the brains of animals and children living in
'It has recently been
discovered that nanoparticles can have highly significant impacts on the rate
of misfolding of key proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases like
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
'The brain itself is
a very special organ. It cannot repair by replacing nerve cells, the ones you
get at birth have to last all your life, which makes them peculiarly vulnerable
to long term low dose toxicity.'
The brain had built
up some protective mechanisms but a major worry
was that nanoparticles seemed to be able to circumvent them, he said.
'All this adds up to a new field of investigation. This research
programme is deeply challenging and entails the gathering of entirely new
knowledge in a field - neuronanotoxicology.
'It requires the
marshalling of unique expertise, methodologies, techniques and materials, many
themselves completely new and never before brought together in the required
combination,'" said the professor.
Latest figures show
neurodegenerative diseases currently affect over 1.6 per cent of the European
population, with dramatically rising incidence likely in part to the increase
of the average age of the population.
'There is also some
epidemiological evidence that Parkinson's disease is connected to environmental
pollutants and it is often noted that, historically, reports of Parkinson's
symptoms only began to appear after widespread industrialisation.
'The risk that
engineered nanoparticles could introduce unforeseen hazards to human health is
now also a matter of growing concern in many regulatory bodies, governments and
industry,' said the professor.