Numerous studies have linked heart disease and air pollution, especially smog. Smog--a toxic brew of chemicals and molecules such as ozone--seems to exacerbate heart disease, leading to an increase in heart attacks and fatalities. But scientists have yet to discover the pathway by which smog impacts the cardiovascular system. Now a new study shows how ozone's byproducts in the body can harden arteries and cause heart disease.

Chemist Paul Wentworth, Jr., of the Scripps Research Institute and colleagues tested such byproducts--known as atheronals--in vitro. These molecules form when ozone and cholesterol interact. "Cholesterol makes up 40 percent of most of your membranes, including those in your lungs," Wentworth explains. "If you inspire smog, there directly is the interaction."



Posted by: Emily    Source

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