Researchers at Florida Atlantic University plan to study the effects of smoke exposure from agricultural fires on the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in rural Palm Beach County.
The university and collaborators land a $4.2 million federal grant to focus on those living in rural areas along Lake Okeechobee, near the fields where pre-harvesting burning occurs.“
Small particles, what they call P.M., Particular Matter 2.5, is suspended in the air and when people breathe it in. It goes deep into the lungs, and it can to the brain and cause inflammation, which is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease,” FAU’s professor emeritus Christine Williams, Ph.D.