Study: Microplastics Infiltrating Brain Tissue: ‘There’s Nowhere Left Untouched’

In the latest study, an examination of the livers, kidneys and brains of autopsied bodies found that all contained microplastics. But the 91 brain samples contained on average about 10 to 20 times more than the other organs. The researchers found that 24 of the brain samples measured on average about 0.5% plastic by weight. “It’s pretty alarming,” Campen said. “There’s much more plastic in our brains than I ever would have imagined or been comfortable with.” The researchers looked at 12 brain samples from people who had died with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. These brains contained up to 10 times more plastic by weight than healthy samples. The study also found the quantity of microplastics in brain samples from 2024 was about 50% higher from the total in samples that date to 2016, suggesting the concentration of microplastics found in human brains is rising at a similar rate to that found in the environment.