AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Exposure to Airborne Particles - Health Effects and Mechanisms: Where Are We and Where Are We Headed?
MARK UTELL, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
Abstract Number: 73 Working Group: Invited by Conference Chair
Abstract Remarkable progress has been made in the science of particulate matter (PM) health effects and their mechanisms. Many of the scientific questions about PM health effects posed in a report of the National Academy of Sciences in 1998 have been or are being addressed. We know that PM exposure at levels experienced outdoors in urban environments has effects on the blood and the heart and increases risk for pulmonary and cardiovascular events in susceptible people. These findings have revolutionized our understanding of interactions between the lungs and the heart, and of the ability of inhaled particles to deposit in the respiratory system and gain access to the circulation and even the brain. This presentation will focus on our current understanding of mechanism of PM toxicity such as systemic inflammation, vascular function and dysfunction, and cardiac events and look into our crystal ball for the future as we consider susceptibility genes and the potential to use the tools of molecular epidemiology to examine susceptibility at the population level.