Scientists have found alarming quantities of microplastics in almost everything, Sea turtles to testicles. But discovering the value of a plastic spoon of these pernicious particles inside the human brain can be the most disturbing of all.
This recent finding Has researchers encouraged the consequences on the health of plastic accumulation in the brain. According to a new review of review, published today in the journal Brain medicineMicroplastics can be the missing link in the relationship between ultra-transformed foods and certain neurological disorders, such as depression and dementia.
“We see convergent evidence that should concern us all,” said the main author Nicholas Fabiano, a psychiatry resident at the University of Ottawa, in a statement.
“Ultra-transformed foods now represent more than 50% of energy intake in countries like the United States, and these foods contain significantly higher microplastic concentrations than whole foods,” he added.
Indeed, multiple studies Suggest that the more a food product is transformed, the more likely it is to contain plastic particles. For example, a study find that chicken chips contain 30 times more microplastics per gram than chicken breasts. This may be due to the increase in the quantity of plastic to which ultra-transformed foods are exposed during treatment and packaging, according to the Food processing forum.
Other recent studies have shown that microplastics can bypass the blood-brain barrier: a protective layer of cells surrounding the brain that prevents harmful substances and locks beneficial chemicals. molecules.
Once these particles enter the brain, they induce oxidative stress that damages cells and increases the risk of neurological disorders, declares Fabiano’s study. He and his colleagues note that microplastics seem to have a particular impact on neurotransmitters who play a role in neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and dementia. It is a great daring affirmation which must still be verified with additional research.
Interestingly, these harmful effects are surprisingly similar to those triggered by ultra-transformed foods, according to researchers. A previous review find The fact that people who consumed these foods had a significantly higher risk of depression, anxiety and bad sleep. And multiple studies have linked this type of diet to an increased risk of dementia. Consequently, Fabiano and his colleagues suggest that microplastics could be a hidden engine of neurological disorders associated with the consumption of ultra-transformed food.
“This hypothesis is particularly convincing because we see a remarkable overlap in the biological mechanisms,” said co-author Wolfgang Marx, principal researcher at Deakin University in Australia, in the press release. “Ultra processed foods have been linked to mental health unfavorable by inflammation, oxidative stress, epigenetics, mitochondrial dysfunction and disturbances in neurotransmitter systems. Microplastics seem to work by remarkably similar paths, “he added.
So it’s the bad news. Here is the good news: an additional study, also published in Brain medicine Today, provides the “first proof” to suggest that a well -established medical technique called extracorporeal apheresis could eliminate microplastics from the body.
This procedure consists in extracting the blood of a patient and passing it through a machine that separates it into its parts: plasma and blood cells. Then, plasma is filtered to remove all unwanted substances (such as microplastics) and clean plasma and blood cells are put back in the patient.
It is a relatively simple technique that is used worldwide for certain types of blood donation, for therapeutic purposes, to the collection of stem cells, etc. In tests with 21 patients, at least two extracorporeal apherese cycles with double filtration managed to eliminate microplastics from their blood, according to the study.
“Although we have to reduce our exposure to microplastics thanks to better food choices and packaging alternatives, we also need research on how to withdraw these particles from the human body,” said the main author Stefan Bornstein, professor of cardiovascular and metabolic medicine at King’s College in London, in the declaration.
“Our first results suggest that the apheresis could offer a possible path for microplastic elimination, although much more research is necessary,” he added.
Thus, as the global plastic crisis becomes more disturbing day by day, exploring the means to protect the body from microplastics could help us empty our minds.
