NBC NEWS – Scientists in Brazil found microplastics in the brain tissue of cadavers, according to a new study published Monday in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Mounting research over the last few years has found microplastics in nearly every organ in the body, as well as in the bloodstream and in plaque that clogs arteries. Whether these ubiquitous pollutants can reach the human brain has been a primary concern for scientists.
The latest research looked at a part of the brain called the olfactory bulb, which processes information about smell. Humans have two olfactory bulbs, one above each nasal cavity. Connecting the olfactory bulb and the nasal cavity is the olfactory nerve.
Some researchers worry the olfactory pathway may also be an entry point for microplastics getting into the brain, beyond the olfactory bulb.
Lead study author Dr. Thais Mauad, an associate professor of pathology at the University of São Paulo Medical School in Brazil, said:
“Previous studies in humans and animals have shown that air pollution reaches the brain, and that particles have been found in the olfactory bulb, which is why we think the olfactory bulb is probably one of the first points for microplastics to reach the brain.”
Mauad and her team took samples of olfactory bulb tissue from 15 cadavers of people who died between the ages of 33 and 100. Samples from eight of the cadavers contained microplastics — tiny bits of plastic that ranged from 5.5 micrometers to 26.4 micrometers in size.
In total, the researchers found 16 plastic fibers and particles in the tissues.
The smallest were slimmer than the diameter of a human red blood cell, which measures about 8 micrometers.
The most common type of plastic they found was polypropylene, followed by polyamide, nylon and polyethylene vinyl acetate.
“Propylene is everywhere, in furniture, rugs, clothes,” Mauad said. “We know the place we are most exposed to particles is indoors, because all of our homes are full of plastic” …
