A new study has found a dramatic increase in levels of microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) in human brains in recent years. MNPs have previously been detected in human lungs, intestine, bone marrow and placenta. In the new study, researchers took one tissue sample from the brain, kidney and liver of 80 people autopsied in 2016 […]

A new study has found a dramatic increase in levels of microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) in human brains in recent years.

MNPs have previously been detected in human lungs, intestine, bone marrow and placenta. In the new study, researchers took one tissue sample from the brain, kidney and liver of 80 people autopsied in 2016 and 2024. They also sampled the brains of 12 people who died with Alzheimer’s or dementia within that period.

The researchers found that brain and liver samples from 2024 had considerably higher MNP concentrations compared with those in 2016. Brain samples showed a 50% increase during the eight years.