The brain is perhaps the most important organ in our body. To ensure it reliably controls all life processes and remains healthy and intact, it is protected by the blood-brain barrier. This barrier prevents substances dissolved in the blood, such as toxins and viruses, from entering.
However, non-polar, fat-soluble molecules can cross this barrier – and according to the findings of a new study, so too can microplastics.
According to the researchers led by Wookbong Kwon from South Korea, microplastics have a neurotoxic effect, thereby triggering inflammatory processes in the brain. The researchers also found evidence of cellular changes and even cell death. Further studies will be required to determine the actual long-term consequences of microplastics.
Since the middle of the last century, humanity has produced 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic. After just 70 years, the material can be found everywhere on Earth and in the oceans. Whether in Arctic ice, in the atmosphere, or at the deepest point of the oceans, it is omnipresent – a veritable Pandora's box.
Study:
W. Kwon et al. (2021): Microglial phagocytosis of polystyrene microplastics results in immune alteration and apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Science of the Total Environment. http://doi.org/10.1016/
