Nanoplastics have been found in our blood. Now, researchers at Duke University have evidence that these tiny but ubiquitous bits of pollution may potentially be impacting our brains.
The study is among some of the latest findings about how small particles — including air pollution and plastic — are linked to troubling health problems.
The Duke team has found that nanoplastics interact with brain proteins, “creating changes linked to Parkinson’s disease [impacting the nervous system] and some types of dementia,” per a university report.
What’s happening?
Nanoplastics were found in the blood of 77% of people who were part of a recent study in Environment International posted by ScienceDirect.
Duke is studying how plastics, which break down into small particles slowly, leach into our brains. Unfortunately, the pollution may be associated with or contributing to an increase in Parkinson’s disease, according to Duke.
“Parkinson’s disease has been called the fastest-growing neurological disorder in the world,” study principal investigator and Duke Professor Andrew West said in the university story. “Our study suggests that the emergence of micro and nanoplastics in the environment might represent a new toxin challenge with respect to Parkinson’s disease risk and progression.”
Nanoplastics are tiny particles of plastic resulting from the deterioration of products that we use and trash each day, including cutlery and cups. The Duke team found an accumulation of the plastic proteins in “test tubes, cultured neurons, and mouse models of Parkinson’s disease.”
“This is especially concerning given the predicted increase in concentrations of these contaminants in our water and food supplies,” West said in the report.