Tobacco Use May Cause Brain Damage

June 23, 2009 7:51 p.m. EST

Manesar, India (AHN) - Indian researchers say in a new study that there is a direct link between cigarette smoking and brain damage.

Dr. Anirban Basu and Debapriya Ghosh from the Indian National Brain Research Center, said they have found a compound in tobacco smoke that provokes whit blood cells in the central nervous system to attack healthy cells, which causes severe neurological damage.

The study appears in the July issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry. The compound is known as NNK, which is a pre-carcinogen which can become toxic when it is altered by the body's metabolic process.

The researchers said that unlike alcohol or drug abuse, smoking doesn't harm brain cells directly. But they said their research indicated smoking may cause neuroinflamation, which can lead to disorders like multiple sclerosis.

The compound is not only activated through smoking, the researchers said in a press release. Since NNK is found in all forms of tobacco, Basu and Ghosh said it can also enter the body through smokeless tobacco use.