"Exponential Rise" In Microplastic Contamination Tracked In Brain Posts 1997-2024; Liver, Kidney Also Collecting Toxins

The exponential rise in microplastic pollution over the past 50 years may be reflected in increasing contamination in human brains, according to a new study. It found a rising trend in micro- and nanoplastics in brain tissue from dozens of postmortems carried out between 1997 and 2024. The researchers also found the tiny particles in liver and kidney samples.

The human body is widely contaminated by microplastics. They have also been found in blood, semen, breast milk, placentas and bone marrow. The impact on human health is largely unknown, but they have been linked to strokes and heart attacks. The scientists also found that the concentration of microplastics was about six times higher in brain samples from people who had dementia. However, the damage dementia causes in the brain would be expected to increase concentrations, the researchers said, meaning no causal link should be assumed.

“Given the exponentially rising environmental presence of micro- and nanoplastics, this data compels a much larger effort to understand whether they have a role in neurological disorders or other human health effects,” said the researchers, who were led by Prof Matthew Campen at the University of New Mexico in the US.

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The new research, published in the journal Nature Medicine, analysed samples of brain, liver and kidney tissues from 28 people who died in 2016 and 24 who died in 2024 in New Mexico. Microplastic concentration was much higher in the brain tissue. It was also higher in brain and liver samples from 2024, compared with those from 2016. The scientists extended the analysis with brain tissue samples from people who had died between 1997 and 2013 on the US east coast. The data showed an increasing trend in microplastic contamination of brains from 1997 to 2024.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/03/levels-of-microplastics-in-human-brains-may-be-rapidly-rising-study-suggests