Tag : Brain

    E-Cigarettes May Alter Organs, Hinder Body's Ability To Fight Infections

    E-Cigarettes
    Sunil Aswal
    April13/ 2022

    New York: Daily use of pod-based e-cigarettes can alter the inflammatory state across multiple organ systems including the brain, heart, lungs and colon, claims a study. The effects also vary depending on the e-cigarette flavour, and can influence how organs respond to infections, such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing Covid-19, said researchers at the University of California -San Diego, US. In the study, published in the journal eLife, the team exposed young adult mice to flavoured aerosols three times a day for three months. Researchers then looked for signs of inflammation across the body. They saw the most striking effects in the brain, where several inflammatory markers were elevated. Additional changes in neuroinflammatory gene expression were noted in the nucleus accumbens, a brain region critical for motivation and reward-processing. The findings raise major concerns, they said, as neuroinflammation in this region has been linked to anxiety, depression and addictive behaviours, which could further exacerbate substance use and addiction. Inflammatory gene expression also increased in the colon, particularly after one month of e-cigarette exposure, which could increase risk of gastrointestinal disease. In contrast, the heart showed decreased levels of inflammatory markers. The researchers said this state of immunosuppression could make cardiac tissue more vulnerable to infection. While lungs did not show tissue-level signs of inflammation, numerous gene expression changes were observed in the samples, calling for further study of the long-term effects of pod-based e-cigarettes on pulmonary health. The researchers also found that the inflammatory response of each organ varied depending on which flavour was used. For exampl ...

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