Microplastics block blood flow in the brain, mice study reveals
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Tiny pieces of plastic were found lodged in blood vessels in the brains of mice. Credit: Sinclair Stammers/Science Photo Library
For the first time, scientists have tracked microplastics moving through the bodies of mice in real time1. The tiny plastic particles are gobbled up by immune cells, travel through the bloodstream and eventually become lodged in blood vessels in the brain. It’s not clear whether such obstructions occur in people, say researchers, but they did seem to affect the mice’s movement.
Microplastics are specks of plastic, less than 5 millimeters long, that can be found everywhere, from the deep ocean to Antarctic ice. They are in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. They can even enter our bloodstreams directly through plastic medical devices.
Studies show that microplastics, and smaller nanoplastics, have made their way into humans’ brains, livers and kidneys, but researchers are just beginning to understand what happens to these plastic intruders and their effect on human health. One study last year, for example, found that people with micro- and nano-plastics in fatty deposits in their main artery were more likely to experience a heart attack, stroke or death2.
