Ni Dieu Ni Maitre

In a study of nearly 28 million older Americans, long-term exposure to fine particle air pollution raised the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. That link held even after researchers accounted for common conditions like high blood pressure, stroke and depression. Fine particle air pollution, known as PM2.5, consists of tiny particles in the air that come from car exhaust, power plants, wildfires, and burning fuels, according to the American Lung Association. They are small enough to travel deep into the lungs and even reach the bloodstream.

The research, conducted at Emory University and published in PLOS Medicine, tracked health data over nearly two decades to explore whether air pollution harms the brain indirectly by causing high blood pressure or heart disease, which, in turn, leads to dementia. However, these “middleman” conditions accounted for less than 5% of the connection between pollution and Alzheimer’s, the research found. The researchers say this suggests that over 95% of the Alzheimer’s risk comes from the direct impact of breathing in dirty air, likely through inflammation or damage to brain cells.“The relationship between PM2.5 and AD [Alzheimer’s disease] has been shown to be pretty much linear,” said Kyle Steenland, a professor in the departments of environmental health and epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, and senior author of the study. “The reason this is particularly important is that PM2.5 is known to be associated with high blood pressure, stroke and depression — all of which are associated with AD. So, from a prevention standpoint, simply treating these diseases will not get rid of the problem. We have to address exposure to PM2.5.”

What? Me worry?

Did Trump and the Chumps get the message… Oh, wait, they’re in the process of making things WORSE! Ah, well, life goes on. But not for a lot longer, I fear. Elon Musk is prepared to ‘save civilization’, he says, by building a bunker on the moon for himself. He has also not gotten the message, There is no planet B.

My English friends. We meet for breakfast and in the later afternoon down on the beach for a drink. This is their 12th year in Sri Lanka for 3 months. The weather, to really everyone’s surprise, has turned cooler and overcast… not actually cool, of course. And the sea is rough, waves hitting with enough punch to knock me down, even though they are small. There are not many tourists here as it is not the ‘season’. Somehow, and for some reason, this starts in April, when all the currently nearly empty hotels and restaurants fill up for several months.

Justin, also English and a big cricket fan. We watched several matches in the evenings over dinner. I have learned about 50% of cricket terms and rules after spending well over a year between India and SL. It’s not as boring as golf, but less exciting than baseball. Certainly lots of the former British colonies are serious participants, and the USA also has a team (of Asian Americans).

Hans, a Dutchman, and another Lanka regular, riding around on a motorbike. We were regulars at the Home Plate restaurant until he rode off to Jaffna in the far north of the island.

My hotel owner and the manager tried to talk me into going to Jaffna with them, but after 2 last minute postponements, I gave up. Finally they took off one morning, got a flat in the middle of… and discovered that they had no spare tire. Their verdict on Jaffna? Just another small city without much to offer.

As overcast as it has been, there’s been very little actual rain, and that mostly in the night. Well, off to a long walk down the beach for that Lion Stout. Life is low key and with a quite pleasant routine.