United States: The global community now shows significant concern about environmental microplastics, which have emerged as a well-known issue.
Modern scientific research demonstrates that microplastics can enter the human body, where they primarily accumulate inside the brain.
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The scientific community investigates the potential effects and protective measures for plastic particle exposure after conducting recent studies on human body accumulation.
Scientists from Nature Medicine documented that brain tissue contains approximately one spoonful of small plastic pieces, which proves to be a frightening discovery.
Scientists discovered through brain examinations of dementia-diagnosed deceased patients that microplastic counts reached three to five times higher levels.
Research scholars from the University of Ottawa and the University of Toronto published a literature review regarding human accumulation of micro and nanoplastics (MNPs).
Microplastics present in the brain
Scientific research confirms that microplastics exist everywhere, from drinking water to dietary food items to breathed-in air.
According to Dr. Nicholas Fabiano from the University of Ottawa’s Department of Psychiatry, “The dramatic increase in brain microplastic concentrations over just eight years, from 2016 to 2024, is particularly alarming. This rise mirrors the exponential increase we’re seeing in environmental microplastic levels,” earth.com reported.
According to the research team, brain tissue contained micro and nanoplastics at levels that exceeded those detected in vital organs like the liver or kidneys by 7-30 times.
These tiny pieces of plastic seem to demonstrate a preference for the human brain.
Brain tissue contains short yet tiny particles (less than 200 nanometers) that primarily consist of polyethylene and infiltrate the cerebrovascular walls along with immune cells.
These particles show a sufficiently small size to penetrate into the blood-brain barrier, which promotes theories about their neurological impact.
Scientific evidence does not clarify if dementia patients presented elevated MNP levels because of their neurological condition or if MNP levels cause dementia development.
Additional research will explore the connection between this phenomenon.