Human brain recorded 50% more nanoplastic in 8 years, says study

Samples of cognitively normal human brains collected in autopsies in early 2024 contained more tiny plastic fragments than samples collected eight years earlier, according to a new study.

Overall, the brain samples of corpses contained seven to 30 times more tiny plastic fragments than their kidneys and liver, said the main author of the study Matthew Campen, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

“The concentrations we saw in the brain tissue of normal individuals, with an average age of about 45 or 50 years, were 4,800 micrograms per grass, or 0.48% by weight,” said Campen.

This is the equivalent of an entire standard plastic spoon, said Campen.

“Compared to the 2016 autopsy brain samples, this is about 50% higher,” he said. “This would mean that our brains today are 99.5% brain and the rest is plastic.”

However, it is possible that current plastics measurement methods may have super or underestimated their levels in their body, said Campen: “We are working hard to reach a very accurate estimate that I believe we will have within next year.”

The researchers also found three to five times more plastic fragments in the brains of 12 people who had been diagnosed with dementia before their death compared to healthy brains. These fragments, smaller than the eye can see, were concentrated on the walls of brain arteries and veins, as well as brain immunological cells.

“It’s a little alarming, but remember that dementia is a disease where the blood-lodged barrier and elimination mechanisms are harmed,” said Campen. In addition, there are inflammatory cells and brain tissue atrophy with dementia, which can create “a kind of deposit for plastics,” he explained.

“We want to be very cautious in interpreting these results, as microplastics are probably high due to the disease (dementia), and we currently do not suggest that microplastics can cause the disease,” said Campen.

Finding plastic deposits in the brain does not prove that they cause damage, said Phoebe Stapleton, associate professor of Pharmgers Pharmacology and Toxicology in Piscataway, New Jersey, who was not involved in the new study.

“It is unclear whether, for their lifetime, these particles are fluid, entering and leaving the brain, or if they accumulate in neurological tissues and promote disease,” she said by email. “More research is needed to understand how particles may be interacting with cells and if it has a toxicological consequence.”

In fact, the researchers observed signs that the liver and kidney kidney may be able to eliminate some plastics from the body, said Campen. If this can happen in the brain, he said, he is unknown.

This same subject was studied by researchers at the University of São Paulo School of Medicine (FM-USP), who found microplastics in the brain of eight people.

Potential health damage

Finding higher levels of microplastics in human tissues today “makes sense” because plastic manufacturing, plastic pollution and human exposure to the material have increased rapidly, said pediatrician and biology professor Dr. Philip Landrigan, director of the health program Global public and the common good and the Boston College Global Health Observatory.

“More than half of all the plastic ever produced has been done since 2002 and production is on its way to fold by 2040,” said Landrigan, who was not involved in the new study.

Landrigan is the main author of a March 2023 Report From the Minderoo-Monco Commission on Plastics and Human Health, a global consortium of scientists, health professionals and political analysts in charge of accompanying plastics from creation to the final product.

In the 2023 report, the consortium determined that plastics are associated with human health damage at all stages of the material life cycle.

“Studies have found these plastics in the human heart, in the large blood vessels, the lungs, the liver, the testicles, the gastrointestinal tract and the placenta,” Landrigan said.

“The biggest question is, ‘Okay, what are these particles doing with us?’ Honestly, we still don’t know, ”he concluded. “What we know really is that these microplastic particles are like Trojan horses – they carry thousands of chemicals present in plastics, and some of these chemicals are very harmful.”

By invading individual cells and tissues in main organs, nanoplastics can potentially interrupt cell processes and deposit chemicals that interfere with the endocrine system such as bisphenols, ftalatos, flame retarders, heavy metals and perfluoridal substances, or PFAS.

Endocrine disruptors interfere with the human reproductive system, leading to genital and reproductive malformations, as well as female infertility and decline in sperm count, according to the endocrinology society.

“We have some good indications that microplastics and nanoplastics cause damage, even if we are far from knowing the total extent of these damage,” said Landrigan. “I would say we already have enough information to start taking protective measures.”

The American Council of Chemistry, an association of the sector, told the CNN that the FDA states that current scientific evidence does not show that microplastics or nanoplastics detected in foods pose a risk to human health.

“In progress research not only helps address current gaps in our understanding of exposure to microplastics, but also aims to develop enhanced tools to measure the toxicity of microplastics for humans,” said Kimberly Wise White, vice president of regulatory affairs and council scientific.

Nanoplastics “kidnap” their way to the brain

For the study, published on Monday (3) in the journal Nature Medicineresearchers examined brain, kidney and hepatic tissues collected from people who underwent forensic autopsy in 2016 and 2024. For comparison, the researchers also analyzed brains of people who died between 1997 and 2013.

Brain tissue samples were collected from the frontal cortex, the brain area associated with thought and reasoning. It is the part of the brain most affected by frontotemporal dementia (DFT) and advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Microplastics are fragments that can vary from less than 0.2 inches (5 millimeters) or approximately the size of a pencil rubber, up to 1 nanometer. A human hair has about 80,000 nanometers wide, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Anything smaller is a nanoplastic that should be measured in metro billiones.

“Based on our observations, we believe the brain is attracting the smallest nanostructures, such as 100 to 200 nanometers in length. These are approximately the size of two Covid viruses side by side, ”said Campen, who is also director of the New Mexico Metal and Medicine Center in Biology and Medicine.

Nanoplastics are the most worrying plastics for human health, experts say, because tiny pieces can lodge within individual cells.

“Somehow, these nanoplastics infiltrate the body and reach the brain, crossing the blood -bred barrier,” said Campen. “Plastics love fats, or lipids, so one theory is that plastics infiltrate along with the fats we eat, which are then delivered to the organs that really like lipids – the brain is at the top between them.”

The human brain is about 60% fat by weight, much more than any other organ. Essential fatty acids, such as omega 3, are fundamental to the strength and performance of brain cells. Since the human body cannot produce essential fatty acids on their own, they should come from food or supplements.

The diet is the main exposure route for micro and nanoplastics, said Landrigan, however, some are also in the air: “When people are driving on the road and their tires are wearing the surface of the road, a certain amount of particles of microplastic is thrown into the air. ”

If you live near the coast, some of the microplastic particles in the ocean are thrown into the air through the action of the waves, ”he said. “Ingestion is probably the dominant way, but inhalation is also an important way.”

Learn how to use less plastic

There are many measures that people can take to reduce their exposure to plastics and their plastic footprint, experts say.

“It is important not to scare people too much, because science in this area is still evolving, and no one in 2025 will live without plastic,” said Landrigan.

“I tell people:“ Look, there are some plastics that you can’t avoid. You won’t get a cell phone or computer that does not contain plastic. ” But try to minimize your exposure to the plastic you can avoid, especially the plastics of single use. ”

It is difficult to avoid wrapped foods in plastic wrap because they are ubiquitous, Landrigan said, but you can remove the food from the plastic package before cooking it or put it in the microwave.

“When you heat the plastic, this speeds up the movement of the microplastics from the packaging to the food,” he explained.

Invest in a zippered fabric bag and ask the laundry to return your clothes on it instead of those thin plastic leaves, the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental defense group, suggested. Take a mug of travel to the local cafeteria and cutlery to the office to reduce the use of plastic cups and utensils.

“Do not use plastic bags when shopping. Use a cloth, paper or recyclable cloth. Try to avoid bottles of plastic water if possible, ”said Landrigan.

A March 2024 study found that 1 liter of bottled water – the equivalent of two standard size water bottles normally bought by consumers – contained an average of 240,000 plastic particles of seven different plastics. About 90% of these were nanoplastic.

“Use a glass of metal or glass instead of a plastic glass. Store your foods in glass containers instead of plastics, ”said Landrigan. “Work in your local community to ban plastic bags, as many communities in the United States have done. There’s a long time you can do. ”

“And on social level, you can join strengths with others who care about the health of children to press for restrictions on the manufacture of plastic and the use of safer chemicals in plastics,” he said. “The fact that we do not know all about all chemicals in plastics does not mean that we should not take action against plastic chemicals that we know to be harmful.”

*Editor’s Note: This story was originally written in August 2024 based on a preprint, which is a preliminary copy of an article that had not yet been reviewed by peers. It was updated to reflect the final article revised by peers and published in Nature.

This content was originally published in a human brain recorded 50% more nanoplastics in 8 years, says study on CNN Brazil.

Source: CNN Brasil