Smoking Kills Brain Cells
Nicotine can kill brain cells and stop new ones forming in the hippocampus, a brain region involved in memory, says Pier Piazza of France’s National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) in Bordeaux. The finding might explain the cognitive problems experienced by many heavy smokers when they try to quit.
The team allowed rats to self-administer doses of nicotine daily for six weeks. At blood nicotine levels comparable to those found in smokers, they found the creation of new neurons in the hippocampus was cut by up to 50 per cent. Cell death also increased.The implications for smokers and for those using nicotine gum or patches to help them give up are unclear.
read more