Microplastics in Our Brains
University of New Mexico (UNM) scientists have discovered something alarming - microplastics are accumulating in our brains at a scary rate. Microplastics are tiny pieces of degraded synthetic polymers found in the air, soil, and water. Microplastics are extremely small, about 2-3 times larger than a viral particle. In recent years, scientists have found that microplastics are building up in human organs including the pancreas, testicles, liver, kidney, and placenta.
In this study, researchers analyzed samples of postmortem brain tissue samples donated by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. Of all the organs, the brain seems to have the highest levels of microplastics - up to 30 times higher than the kidneys or liver. On average, a human brain may contain as much as 7 grams of microplastics, which is basically the weight of a small plastic spoon. The concentrations of microplastics also appears to be increasing over time - the scientists found 50% more microplastics in cadaveric brain tissue between 2016 and 2024. Even more frightening, the brain tissue samples of people with dementia had 10-times more microplastics.
This points to an alarming conclusion - microplastics may not be inert, inactive compounds in our bodies but may be inducing chronic pathological changes that impact our health. In the brain, microplastics may be triggering inflammatory changes that lead to neuronal death, resulting in a host of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It is very possible that microplastics aggravate autoimmune neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis as well.
More research is needed to figure out how microplastics are making their way into our organs, especially the brain. More importantly, we need to find out the exact impact of these polymers on cell and tissue function. Finally, we need to learn how to remove them from our bodies, reduce our exposure to them, and rid them from the environment.
