Environmental Toxins and Brain
Vasundhara Aggarwal, Man Mohan Mehndiratta, Mohammad Wasay, Divyani Garg
Abstract
Man and environment have a strong connection with each other for their functioning. Environmental toxins which can be natural or manmade result in the loss of this balance by causing systemic inflammatory response within the human body, with the brain being the most affected target end-organ. These problems are more prominent in Third World countries, where environmental regulations laws are either relaxed or non-existent. These neurotoxins play a very important aetiological role in the manifestation of various neurodegenerative diseases, neurodevelopmental disorders and psychiatric disorders. Environmental neurotoxicity results from inhibition of mitochondrial activity, excess oxidative stress leading to neuroinflammation, and promoting apoptosis and neuronal cell death. Having the know-how of these neurotoxins will provide insight into the process of neurodegeneration and will result in further designing of studies to delve into processes and mechanisms of neuronal regeneration and axonal sprouting. This review highlights the various central nervous system disorders associated with exposure to environmental neurotoxins and discusses the way forward to prevent or halt the process of neurodegeneration.