Magnetite produced by traffic as a possible cause of Alzheimer disease

A rather unexpected partial explanation for Alzheimer’s disease has been found: magnetite particles, which can be found in urban environments from exhaust gases containing breathing air (see this). I have written earlier about Alzheimer’s disease from the TGD point of view (see this). Magnetite particles seem to be found in the hippocampus of those with the disease, which is central to memory. Now it has been found that the exposure of mice to magnetite leads to a generation of Alzheimer disease. Therefore the pollution caused by the traffic in urban environment could be an important cause of Alzheimer disease. Magnetite particles, .5 micrometers in size, consist of Fe₃O₄ molecules containing iron and oxygen. What could be the explanation?

The brain needs metabolic energy. Hemoglobin is central to the supply of metabolic energy because it binds oxygen. Could it be thought that Alzheimer’s is at least partially related to a lack of metabolic energy in the hippocampus?

Oxygen molecules O₂ bind to iron atoms in hemoglobin that already have a valence bond with 5 nitrogen atoms and a bond is created where Fe has received 5 electrons ta and a sixth from oxygen molecule O₂. So Fe behaves the opposite of what you would expect and hemoglobin is very unusual chemically! Phosphate (or phosphate ion) O=PO₃, which also plays a central role in metabolism, also breaks the rules: instead of accepting 3 valence electrons, it gives up 5 electrons to oxygen atoms. One can wonder whether something deep is involved.

Could it happen that somehow the oxygen absorption capacity of hemoglobin would decrease, that the amount of hemoglobin would decrease, or that oxygen would bind to the magnetite molecules on the surface of the magnetite particle? For example, could you think that some of the O₂ molecules bind to Fe₃O₄ molecules instead of hemoglobin. You can think of this because iron can give up more than 2 valence electrons (in the hemoglobin + iron combination, it gives 6 of them!: 5 to nitrogen and one to O₂!)

For a summary of earlier postings see Latest progress in TGD.

For the lists of articles (most of them published in journals founded by Huping Hu) and books about TGD see this.