Increasing presence of plastic particles in human brain: Research report

From water bottles to market bags, mobile phones to laptops – everything has a touch of plastic. In one word, we live in a plastic world. Nowadays, the existence of plastic is found in various foods. It increases the presence of microscopic plastic particles in the human brain. The image was obtained by examining brain tissue collected during autopsies of several people earlier this year.

It has been found that the amount of microscopic plastic particles in the brain is much higher than eight years ago. Researchers perform autopsies on brain, kidney and liver of human body. At the end of the test, microplastics were found in all the organs. Unfortunately, the 91 brain samples found about 10 to 20 percent more microplastics than the whole body.

These facts have been highlighted in a research report published online recently. The research report is still a PR-review and has not been published in any journal. The lead author of the research report is Matthew Campen. He is Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of New Mexico, United States. For this study, the researchers examined the brain, kidney and liver tissues of 92 people who were autopsied between 2016 and 2024.

Matthew Campen said, 'We found 4,800 micrograms (1 gram equals 100,000 micrograms) of plastic particles per gram of brain tissue in a normal human aged 45 to 50 years. It is 0.5 percent of the total weight of the brain. The amount of plastic found in the brain in 2016 will increase by nearly 50 percent by 2024. This means that our brain today is 99.5 percent, the rest is plastic.'

According to Phoebe Stapleton, associate professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, the research report does not mention anything about how much this plastic can damage our brain. He has no affiliation with this research report.

Phoebe Stapleton said: 'It is not clear whether these plastic particles are liquid and whether they are going into the brain and coming out. Whether these are found in neural tissue or cause disease is also not clear from the study. More research is needed to understand how these particles interact with brain cells and whether they cause toxicity.'

Professor Matthew Campen said: 'These nanoplastics are somehow getting into our bodies and reaching the brain. Plastic prefers fats or lipids. So one theory is that nanoplastics enter our bodies with the fats we consume through food. Then it goes to other organs including the brain.'

According to research reports, 7 to 30 times more plastic particles were found in brains than in kidneys and livers of people whose bodies were autopsied. Professor Philip Landrigan of Boston College said, research has shown that small plastic particles are found in various organs including the human heart, arteries, lungs, and liver. Come 2024, no one can avoid plastic. For example, no cell phone or computer can be found without plastic. However, exposure can be reduced in some cases, such as plastic bags and bottles.

Bangladesh /KH