“Epidemiological nightmares”: Health of microplastics and GI

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Hello. I am David Johnson, a medical professor at Eastern Virginia School in Norfolk, Virginia and a digestive instrumental chief.

Plastic is a part of our daily lives, and we always use it. We have a plastic water bottle when traveling. Cooked with plastic, food is wrapped in plastic, and food is heated in plastic containers. This has shown the incredible growth of plastic production over the past 70 years, dating back to the 1950s, and is almost estimated. 9 billion tons Plastic is produced.

You may think you're working on this through recycling. Theoretically, this sounds good, but that's the only estimated. About 10 % It is actually recycled of plastic. Instead, many of our unreceded plastics are thrown away in untrained lands and water, or are burned and aerosol. With subsequent deterioration or up regulations, plastic is a composite of air, water and soil.

Plastic is contained in various textiles, and its dynamics are changed by chemical weathering and moved further to the environment. In addition, plastic micro beads are used on a daily basis with drugs, cosmetics, personal care products, abrasives, and 3D print powder.

As a result, plastic is taken on a daily basis and gradually penetrates into almost all living forms on the earth. in fact, It is estimated The average Americans are currently consuming a 5 -gram plastic (approximately credit card mass) once a week. You can breathe by aerosolation, and there is not much risk of skin exposure, but can be taken.

Plastic is classified as micro plastic if the size is less than 5 mm. This is commonly seen, and if the size is less than 1 μm, it is nanoplastic. Organizationally, to detect nano -plastic surgery, a spectroscopy or a kind of fluorescent microscopy is required. In other words, they are not found in your daily pathology reports.

Impact of plastic intake

It is covered with 2024 Review articleThe ingested plastic accumulates on the gastrointestinal (GI) and pulmonary, indicating inflammatory. The authors have pointed out that multiple animal studies conducted with various insects and fish models indicate that microplastics have dramatic effects on intestinal instructions. In humans, they decrease Bacteroids Plants, this is an anti -inflammatory gate, Inflammatory bowel disease。 Basically, plastic intake increases separation, reduces diversity, and sets out digestive tract imbalance.

Animal research has consistently indicated that microplastics cause dramatic changes in intestinal perfection. The intestinal barrier decreases, leading to downlate expression of tight joint proteins such as crodin, zone lin, and okuldin. This allows bacteria, plastic itself, or metabolites for microorganisms through almost all organs in the body, as well as intestinal walls. Currently, many studies have shown that these plastic nanoparticles can be found anywhere in the body, including the brain.

Plastic exposure is very destructive. As a result, the inflammatory cytokine, which is controlled, includes the perfection of the tumor necrotic factor, interloy chin-6, and intestinal completeness, as well as the perfection of the blood brain barrier.

Related to new illness

What does this mean in terms of illness? These plastic do not evoke cell death, but their cell structures and cell functions are certainly changing. Multiple cell analysis and in vivo research have repeatedly shown negative biological casualties in microplastic exposure.

One of the recent research It was my eyes because of the impressive result New England Medicine Journal。 Researchers have registered 304 patients Cervorasia endometrial resection In the case of asymptomaticity Carotid disordersThe resected carotid artery Pest After that, it was analyzed. Of these patients, 150 (58 %) have identified nanoplastics on plaque. These patients had the danger ratio of having a relevant heart event, strokeOr, or about 4.5 times larger than the plaque detected nanoplastics.

From the viewpoint of GI disease, these plastic change the intestinalness of the intestine, control various cytokines, and reduce the variety of biomes. Bactoroids The gate, it makes sense Emerging association Includes inflammatory bowel disease. There is beyond animal research Several vertical research It was performed by humans indicating the possibility of identification of these nanoparticles in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

a Recent animal model research Indicated that nanoplastic intake can be generated Crohn's disease-Like a mouse disease. It was triggered by a mouse exposed oral exposed to nanoplastics, but was not triggered by the control group without such exposure.

There are evidence that suggests a link to liver disease. This is included Recent animal research Provides a strong evidence of a strong relevance to the onset of the relevance of micro plastic exposure and metabolic dysfunction. a Very recent reviews Looking at the reasoning reasons for this reason, nanoparticles are transported to the portal vein and induced various upward control of various cytokines in the liver.

Refreshing, comparison cohort analysis I saw the liver biopsy obtained from the patient Cirrhosis。 In contrast to patients at the root of liver disease, it has been shown that a remarkable deposition of nanoparticles is clear in patients with cirrhosis.

What can you do?

This is a potential epidemiological nightmare. Environmental risks are explosive and continue at an incremental speed. It is estimated By 2050, the annual production of plastic exceeds 1.1 billion tons per year.

Several instructions have been introduced to fight this.

In the latter half of 2023, the European Union was passed Chemical law measurement Block or restrict the micro plastic added to the product. When considering the scale of this scale, keep in mind that they are all in drugs, cosmetics, etc. we are looking at. In addition, the United Nations Environmental Rally Approved the contract In 2024, we will investigate the potential to create and implement policies related to human nano formation and exposure to microplastics.

Regarding what we can do on ourselves, it is a good first step to make clinicians and patients aware of this problem.

The easing strategy is to reduce the exposure to plastic in a consumer form (water bottle, cooking ingredients, etc.), and improve management habits on how plastic is treated and finally dealt with. Includes management habits when thrown away, and how to look at the method. To limit the plastic of consumer products and develop alternatives with biodegradable properties.

A vertical science research is required to further support the adverse effects of microplastics and nanoplastics, but I think there are some remarkable meanings in conventional scientific evidence. I think it's true. How far we will go to this, and the meaning has not been defined yet. Nevertheless, we should be careful.

Nanoplastics, especially in GIs and in effectively all diseases, we need to consider. The evidence has not been decided yet, but I am very worried at this point.

Think about this when you talk to your patient and think about your personal health.

I am Dr. David Johnson. Thank you for asking me.

David A. Johnson, Maryland, Regular contributor of MedscapeHe is a medical professor at E -Stamvirinia School in Norfolk, Virginia, and a former president of the United States Gastrointestinal University. His main focus is the gastroenterology clinical care. He has an interest in the main research in esophagus and colon diseases, and has recently published a wide area in internal medicine and gastrointestinal literature, which is affected by gastrointestinal health, sleep and microorganisms.