You even have microplastics in your brain, study warns

You microplastics They’re really everywhere — and they can even lodge themselves in your head. A recent study with laboratory rats identified that they travel through the body and find their way to the human brain after being ingested in drinking water.

The research, led by Eliseo Castillo of the University of New Mexico, was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Understand the research

A specialist in mucosal immunology, that is, the role of the mucosa in the immune system, Castillo carried out an experiment with laboratory rats to analyze the path of microplastics in the organism.

For four weeks, he and his team of scientists gave mice drinking water containing microplastics. In general, the concentration of particles in the water was 4 milligrams per week, parameters that, according to the study, represent the average that people ingest.

Thus, researchers discovered that microplastics move from the intestine to other tissues in the body, including those in the brain. According to the study, rats that were healthy before the experiment showed signs of physical changes after the period ingesting microplastics.

“These mice were exposed for four weeks. Now, think about how this compares to humans if we are exposed from birth to old age,” warned Castillo.

In another study, this one published in the journal Cell Biology and Toxicology, the researcher had already discovered that microplastics alter immune cells called macrophages. In general, they are responsible for protecting the body from foreign particles, thus leading to inflammation in the body.

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Next steps

Now, researchers want to look at how the foods in a person’s diet affect the way they microplastics are absorbed by your body.

“So what we’re going to do is give these laboratory animals a high-fat diet or a high-fiber diet, and they’ll either be exposed or not exposed to microplastics“, explained Castillo.

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