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Diabetes: dirty air 'may raise' insulin

resistance risk

Children's exposure to air traffic pollution could increase their risk of insulin
resistance, which can lead to diabetes in adults, suggests a study in Diabetologia.German
research on 397 10-year-olds found that living close to a major road increased resistance by
7% per 500m.Air pollutants are known to be oxidisers that can impact on lipids and proteins
in the blood.But some experts say the results should be treated with caution.The children in
the study were invited for blood sampling at the age of 10, and glucose and insulin
measurements were taken.Their level of exposure to traffic pollution was estimated using air
pollution figures from 2008-09 for their birth address neighbourhood.The results were
adjusted to take into account birth weight, body mass index (BMI) and exposure to second-
hand smoke at home.The study concluded that levels of insulin resistance were greater in
children with higher exposure to air pollution, such as nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate
matter.It also found a larger effect in children with higher BMIs.

Oxidisers

Elisabeth Thiering and Joachim Heinrich, who led the research at the German
Research Centre for Environmental Health in Neuherberg, said the link between traffic
pollution and insulin resistance could be explained."Although toxicity differs between air
pollutants, they are all considered potent oxidisers that act either directly on lipids and
proteins, or indirectly through the activation of intracellular oxidant pathways," said Dr
Heinrich. Breathing the same pollutant concentrations, children may have a two to fourfold
higher dose reaching the lung”

But Prof Jon Ayres, an expert in environmental and respiratory medicine, of the
University of Birmingham, said the results were not clear-cut.
Previous studies have shown links between air pollution and other chronic conditions, such as
atherosclerosis and heart disease.

Yet to date, epidemiological studies that have examined associations between long-term
exposure to traffic-related air pollution and type 2 diabetes in adults are inconsistent, and
studies on the effect of air pollution on insulin resistance in children are scarce. Frank Kelly,
professor of environmental health at King's College London, said children were particularly
vulnerable.
Ousted Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak's retrial starts

The retrial of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has begun at a court in Cairo.Mr
Mubarak faces charges of complicity in the killings of protesters in the January 2011 uprising
which overthrew him and of financial corruption.Mr Mubarak was convicted in June 2012
but a retrial was ordered on appeal.State TV, which is broadcasting the trial live, said he
entered court sitting on a stretcher.The retrial began amid a tense atmosphere and high
emotions in court, as the judge urged lawyers to stop shouting, the BBC's Shaimaa Khalil
reports.The prosecutor then read out a list of charges against the accused.His first retrial
collapsed in April amid chaotic scenes as the presiding judge referred the case to another
court.Judge Mustafa Hassan Abdullah said he was referring the trial to the Cairo appeals
court as he felt "unease" in reviewing the case.Mr Mubarak's former Interior Minister Habib
al-Adly and six aides will also be retried on the charges relating to the killing of protesters in
2011. Mr Al-Adly will also be retried for corruption charges.About 850 people were killed in
the 2011 crackdown.Both men successfully appealed against their convictions at Egypt's
Court of Cassation, which cited procedural failings in the original trial.Mr Mubarak's sons,
Gamal and Alaa, will be retried on corruption charges for which they were acquitted in June
2012, because of the expiry of a statute of limitations.

The former president was also found not guilty of corruption.Mr Mubarak's first trial,
at which he also appeared on a stretcher, lasted 10 months.The legal proceedings have been a
long and frustrating two years for the legal teams and for the families of those killed in the
uprising, our correspondent reports.One woman Umm Moaz, whose son was killed in the
uprising, told the AFP agency that she had no trust in the court."I have no hope that they will
ensure justice for my son or any martyr. My whole life has been turned upside down," she
said.

There has not been as much public interest in the retrial, in contrast with the large crowds
outside his court at the time of the first trial, our correspondent adds.

Last month Mr Mubarak was transferred from a military hospital to prison after Egypt's
public prosecutor deemed his health was no longer in danger.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22491510