Ambient Air Pollution and Occurrence of Multiple Sclerosis Relapses

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) hampers myelin repair in a mouse model of white matter demyelination

“…Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated disease of the Central Nervous System (CNS), characterized by neuroinflammation, multifocal demyelination and eventually neurodegeneration. Epidemiological studies have shown a strong association between exposure to air pollution and the development and exacerbation of autoimmune diseases, including MS. Short term exposure to ambient airborne particulate matter (PM) has been associated with a higher rate of hospital admissions for MS and MS relapses (Angelici et al, 2016;Roux et al, 2017;Oikonen et al, 2003;Jeanjean et al, 2018). An association between long-term PM exposure and increased prevalence of the disease was also recently shown (Tateo et al, 2019;Lemprière et al, 2020), suggesting that exposure to airborne PM may operate as an aetiological factor in MS.…”

Different components of air pollutants and neurological disorders

“…Interestingly, these correlations are seasonal. Using the multipollutant model, only O 3 was significantly associated with the probability of relapse during the "hot" season (105). Based on the Canada 2001 census queue of health and the environment, Zhao et al found that mortality and MS increased as the O 3 quartile range increased, and the associated fully adjusted HR for MS mortality was 1.35 (1.20-1.51) (68).…”

“…These correlations are seasonal. For example, a one-quarter-fold increase in NO 2 exposure was associated with the incidence of MS recurrence (OR = 1.08; 95% CI: 1.03-1.14) in the "cold" season (October-March) (105). However, varied results on the relationship between NO 2 and MS have been reported.…”