Microplastics in the olfactory bulb of the human brain
Amato-Lourenço LF, Dantas KC, Júnior GR, et al. (2024). JAMA Network Open.
What they found
Micro-FTIR found 16 synthetic polymer particles and fibres in the olfactory bulbs (the brain's smell centre, just above the nose) of 8 of 15 deceased adults. Polypropylene was most common (43.8%); particles measured 5.5–26.4 µm. The authors suggest the nose could be a route into the brain.
- Sample
- 15 autopsied adults in São Paulo
- What it can't tell you
- Case series of 15 people with very few particles in total. The µFTIR set-up resolved down to about 3 µm, so nanoplastics could not be detected. The route via the nose is a hypothesis, not shown. No health outcomes.
- Funding
- Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Plastic Soup Foundation (an advocacy group), Brazilian CNPq and FAPESP; no conflicts reported
- Topics
- In the body
- Checked against
- Abstract and full text (PMC11406405): results, blanks ('absent in procedural blank and negative control filters'), funding