Twenty-four brain samples collected and analysed by researchers in early 2024 measured on average about 0.5% plastic by weight, according to a news report published in The Guardian
A news report, based on latest studies by researchers, published in The Guardian says leading researchers are calling for more urgent actions to rein in plastic pollution after finding that microplastics, or tiny shards and specks of plastics (typically smaller than 5mm in diameter), are increasingly accumulating in critical human organs like brain, lungs, placentas, reproductive organs, livers, kidneys, knee and elbow joints, blood vessels and bone marrow.
Given the research findings, “it is now imperative to declare a global emergency” to deal with plastic pollution, The Gurdian report has said quoting Sedat Gundogdu, who studies microplastics at Cukurova University in Turkey.
Humans are exposed to microplastics, and the chemicals used to make plastics, from widespread plastic pollution in air, water and even food.
The Guardian report said that the health hazards of microplastics within the human body are not yet well-known. Recent studies are just beginning to suggest they could increase the risk of various conditions such as oxidative stress, which can lead to cell damage and inflammation, as well as cardiovascular disease.
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Animal studies have also linked microplastics to fertility issues, various cancers, a disrupted endocrine and immune system, and impaired learning and memory.
The Guardian report mentioned that in one of the latest studies to emerge – a pre-print paper still undergoing peer review that is posted online by the National Institutes of Health – researchers found a particularly concerning accumulation of microplastics in brain samples.
An examination of the livers, kidneys and brains of autopsied bodies found that all contained microplastics, but the 91 brain samples contained on average about 10 to 20 times more than the other organs. The results came as a shock, according to the study’s lead author Mathew Campen, a toxicologist and professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico.
The researchers found that 24 of the brain samples, which were collected in early 2024, measured on average about 0.5% plastic by weight.
The Guardian report quoted Campen as saying, “It’s pretty alarming, there’s much more plastic in our brains than I ever would have imagined or been comfortable with.”
The pre-print brain study led by Campen also hinted at a concerning link. In the study, researchers looked at 12 brain samples from people who had died with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. These brains contained up to 10 times more plastic by weight than healthy samples. (The latest version of Campen’s study, which contains these findings, was not yet posted online when this story was published.)
