Why Diesel Vehicles Are More Harmful

The lungs contain numerous sensory nerves that can detect potentially harmful stimuli and thus allow the body to respond, for example by triggering a cough.

"However, we know that these nerves can also be involved in exacerbating respiratory conditions, for example by causing the bronchi to constrict in diseases such as asthma," Robinson said.

The researchers found that the diesel particles from a forklift truck could activate airway sensory nerves in an in vivo anaesthetised guinea pig model.

"It was interesting to see that the more chemically sensitive airway nerves were involved, rather than the mechanically sensitive ones," Robinson explained.

The researchers then used an in vitro isolated nerve preparation that allowed them to probe the mechanisms involved more rapidly.

"The first thing we noted was that the chemicals isolated from an organic extraction of the diesel particles were key to the activation of the nerve," he added. Robinson presented the study at the 13th European Respiratory Society Lung Science Conference.

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