Scientists Find Microplastics in Brain Tissue

Key Takeaways

• A new study of autopsies revealed over 50 percent more microplastics in brain tissue than a decade ago.
• Microplastics now account for about 0.5 percent of the brain by weight.
• You can reduce your exposure to microplastics by avoiding plastic water bottles and disposable food wrappers.

Miniscule plastic shards that are a byproduct of single-use, disposable plastic containers are finding their way into our brains - and taking up more space there than they did less than a decade ago.

For a new study, researchers examined brain tissue samples collected during autopsies done earlier this year. They found microplastics made up about 4,800 micrograms per gram of brain tissue, or 0.5 percent by weight, according to preliminary results released by Resource Square.

That's over 50 percent more microplastics than researchers found in brain tissue samples taken during autopsies done in 2016. The findings add to the evidence suggesting that it is indeed possible for pollutants to make their way from the environment into the brain, and suggest that the brain may be particularly vulnerable to contamination, says Luz Claudio, PhD , a professor of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. "There are chemicals that can be more easily transported across to the brain," says Dr. Claudio, who wasn't involved in the new study. "Microplastics appear to be one of those types of chemicals."

Microplastics in Water Bottles, Makeup, and Clothes

Microplastics range in size from 5 millimeters (about the size of an eraser) down to 1 nanometer (thousands of times smaller than a grain of rice). These smaller microplastics are called nanoplastics.

These tiny plastic bits can be found in all sorts of consumer products, including water bottles, makeup, personal care items, clothing and textiles, and even some foods and drinks. They can enter our bodies through the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat.

"Microplastics are not confined to the brain; they have been detected in various human tissues and fluids, including blood, lungs, liver, kidneys, and even the placenta," Claudio says. "But the finding of microplastics in the brain is new and concerning."

In particular, the new study looked at several different organs and found the amount of microplastics in the brain was 7 to 10 times higher than in the liver or kidneys.

The New Study Has Limitations

One limitation of the study, the research team notes, is that it deployed chemistry methods to examine the brain tissue samples that haven't been widely adopted and refined. The scientists also acknowledge that they looked at a single tissue sample from each organ examined, making it possible that the amount of microplastics found in the brain tissue samples might not be representative of the entire organ.

In addition, the new findings have not yet been published in a medical journal or independently peer-reviewed, a process that would enable other experts in environmental health to evaluate the study methodology and conclusions.

"The jury is still out on the strength and validity of the paper," says Jessica Goddard, PhD , an environmental health researcher and chief science officer at Tap Score and SimpleLab, a water testing startup in Berkeley, California.

"I don't think this study gives us enough data yet to determine the rate of microplastics accumulating in the brain, and identify concretely whether this is rising over time," says Dr. Goddard, who wasn't involved in the new study. "They present a compelling hypothesis, but we should further investigate with larger sample sizes and more information about exposures before coming to concrete conclusions."

Limiting Exposure to Microplastics Still Makes Sense

Despite any limitations of the new study, people should still be concerned about their rising exposure to microplastics and do what they can to limit their risk, says Martha Gulati, MD , director of preventive cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.

"We cannot remove microplastics once in the body," says Dr. Gulati, who wasn't involved in the new study. "We can try to reduce our exposure to microplastics by avoiding drinking or eating from plastic bottles or containers, and we could reduce worldwide exposures by reducing use of any plastics - plastic bags, plastic bottles, food wrap, and other forms of plastic that are far too common."

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Sources

1. Campen M et al. Bioaccumulation of Microplastics in Decedent Human Brains Assessed by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. Resource Square . May 6, 2024.
2. Microplastics Research. Environmental Protection Agency . July 22, 2024.

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Lisa Rapaport

Author

Lisa Rapaport is a journalist with more than 20 years of experience on the health beat as a writer and editor. She holds a master's degree from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and spent a year as a Knight-Wallace journalism fellow at the University of Michigan. Her work has appeared in dozens of local and national media outlets, including Reuters, Bloomberg, WNYC, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times , Scientific American , San Jose Mercury News , Oakland Tribune , Huffington Post, Yahoo! News, The Sacramento Bee , and The Buffalo News . See full bio See Our Editorial Policy Meet Our Health Expert Network