Mitigating exposure to microplastics, nanoplastics

In a commentary published in Brain Medicine, authors detailed that recent findings have, drawn from a paper in Nature Medicine, indicated that the human brain could harbor larger quantities of microplastics and nanoplastics compared with other organs and that deceased patients with dementia had greater amounts of these particles deposited in their brain tissues. They noted that microplastic and nanoplastic emissions are expected to continue rising if interventions are not implemented to reduce their release into the environment.

Among the health consequences of microplastic and nanoplastic exposure are oxidative stress, inflammation, immune dysfunction, altered biochemical/energy metabolism, impaired cell proliferation, abnormal organ development, disrupted metabolic pathways and carcinogenicity. However, these adverse effects have all been drawn from animal and cell culture studies.

Individuals were advised to make several lifestyle and dietary adjustments to decrease their exposure to microplastics and nanoplastics — including drinking tap water, avoiding plastic-containing tea bags, using glass or stainless steel rather than plastic containers, limiting consumption of canned foods, reducing intake of ultraprocessed foods and installing high-efficiency particulate air filters. HEPA filters are known to remove significant amounts of airborne microplastics and may reduce health risks.

The investigators emphasized the critical need for large-scale human studies to explore strategies to accelerate the clearance of microplastics and nanoplastics from the body, determine the long-term risks of exposure related to chronic health issues and establish exposure limits.

Read more: Brain Medicine

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