According to an early-August press release from Monash University, a preclinical study recently published in the journal Environment and Health suggests that nanoplastics exposure may contribute to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
What’s happening?
The study, co-led by Monash and South China University of Technology, examined how exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics in the environment might affect the way Alzheimer’s disease progresses from the brain to the rest of the body.
To do this, the research team studied mice exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics. Their results indicate that neurological damage caused by nanoplastics isn’t relegated to the brain but extends via the gut-liver-brain axis.
In the mice, “polystyrene nanoplastics aggravated Alzheimer’s-like symptoms,” wrote the co-authors, and prompted immune cell activation in the brain. This, in turn, led to neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation, according to the release, which seemed to contribute to additional health issues, such as fatty liver disease.
Co-author Pu Chun Ke, an adjunct professor at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, explained in a statement, “Nanoplastics set off a chain reaction whereby Alzheimer’s disease develops and spreads from the top down.”
Why is this research important?
As plastic deteriorates, it breaks down into tiny microplastics and even smaller nanoplastics. These can contaminate soil, water, air, and food systems, eventually ending up in human bodies.
The size of these plastic particles — generally less than 5 millimeters in diameter — can cause them to spread widely and make them difficult to locate and clean up. Because they are so pervasive in the environment, they are nearly unavoidable, meaning most humans may be constantly exposed to a variety of possible sources.
Research into the potential health impacts of microplastics is ongoing, but the material has been found in human blood, lungs, brains, reproductive systems, and breast milk. Scientists are still studying possible links between microplastics, nanoplastics, and multiple health problems, such as heart disease and hormone disruption, so continued research is vital.
What’s being done about plastic pollution?
Experts, communities, governments, and corporations are stepping up to help tackle the widespread issue of plastic pollution.
Unfortunately, another round of United Nations-convened global talks recently failed to reach an agreement to formalize a legally binding treaty — one that could not only regulate recycling and waste management but also ultimately cap plastic production.
While this round of negotiations ended in bitter disappointment for those seeking such caps, concerned residents of countries like the United States — delegates of which opposed production restrictions — are likely to continue to push for effective solutions to the plastic crisis.
Individuals can also help reduce plastic pollution and mitigate their own exposure by recycling their plastic and committing to using less plastic in their daily lives.
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