ArticleNature medicine2025
Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains.
Article in Nature medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 265 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
265 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Polyethylene Microplastics and Cardiometabolic Mitochondrial-Redox Dysfunction in Preclinical Rodent Models: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Bioenergetic and Oxidative Stress Outcomes Across Target Organs.Cardiovascular toxicology · 2026Pooled it
- Micro- and nanoplastics in human biological materials: a systematic review of detection methods and methodological challenges.Archives of toxicology · 2026Pooled it
- Micro- and nanoplastics in the human genitourinary system: oncological impact - a systematic review.BJU international · 2026Pooled it
- Plastamination, Human Health, and Countries' Cultural Orientation: An Exploratory Study on Prevention Strategies and Organizational Policies and Practices.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Molecular and Cellular Effects of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in the Pathogenesis of Cardiovascular, Nervous, Urinary, Digestive, and Reproductive System Diseases: A Global Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review of the potential neurotoxicity of micro-and nanoplastics: the known and unknown.Particle and fibre toxicology · 2025Pooled it
- Composite polyphenols mitigate microplastic exposure-related immune disturbances: a two-phase population trial.Nature communications · 2026Trial
- Defining biomaterial-driven design principles for bioabsorbable flow diverters: current state and perspectives.Bioactive materials · 2027Review
- Polarization Holographic 4D Phenotyping Reveals Nanoplastic Induced Dysfunction in Zooplankton.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Microplastics negatively impact ecosystems, human health and cellular proteostasis.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2026Review
- Polystyrene nanoplastics disrupt mouse placenta development in a sex-dependent manner.Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Transcriptomic responses to repeated exposure of human C3A liver spheroids to polystyrene nanoplastics.Archives of toxicology · 2026Article
- Microplastics as Emerging Neurotoxins: Brain Accumulation, Neuroinflammation, and Neurodegeneration Risk.Journal of biochemical and molecular toxicology · 2026Review
- Size-dependent plastic exposure disrupts macrophage function and tissue-specific metabolism.Nature metabolism · 2026Article
- Micro- and nanoplastics in pediatric health: from placental transfer to neurodevelopmental outcomes.Pediatric research · 2026Review
- Developmental Environmental Chronotoxicity by Polystyrene Nanoplastics Exacerbates High-Fat Diet-Induced Pediatric MAFLD Through Circadian Disruption and Mitochondrial Dysfunction.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Review
- The exposome and inflammatory bowel disease: a framework for primary and primordial prevention.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2026Review
- Article
205 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
- Update of
Authors and funding
21 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Rising global concentrations of environmental microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) drive concerns for human exposure and health outcomes. Complementary methods for the robust detection of tissue MNPs, including pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, confirm the presence of MNPs in human kidney, liver and brain. MNPs in these organs primarily consist of polyethylene, with lesser but significant concentrations of other polymers. Brain tissues harbor higher proportions of polyethylene compared to the composition of the plastics in liver or kidney, and electron microscopy verified the nature of the isolated brain MNPs, which present largely as nanoscale shard-like fragments. Plastic concentrations in these decedent tissues were not influenced by age, sex, race/ethnicity or cause of death; the time of death (2016 versus 2024) was a significant factor, with increasing MNP concentrations over time in both liver and brain samples (P = 0.01). Finally, even greater accumulation of MNPs was observed in a cohort of decedent brains with documented dementia diagnosis, with notable deposition in cerebrovascular walls and immune cells. These results highlight a critical need to better understand the routes of exposure, uptake and clearance pathways and potential health consequences of plastics in human tissues, particularly in the brain.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.