Research results show that microplastics can block blood vessels in the brain, causing nerve damage. As microplastics, known as a major culprit of environmental pollution, can seriously affect health—especially the nervous system—the need for related research and countermeasures is increasing.
An international research team from the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences, National University of Singapore, and Duke University in the United States has announced findings from rodent experiments that microplastics can pass through the blood-brain barrier (Blood-Brain Barrier, BBB), be phagocytosed by brain immune cells, and contribute to blood vessel blockages and potential thrombosis. The study was published in the international journal Science Advances on the 22nd (local time).
Microplastics are very small plastic particles, less than 5㎜, that are created as plastic products break down. They spread across various parts of the earth, from the ocean's surface to deep-sea sediments, agricultural lands, high-altitude mountains, lakes, and rivers, carried by wind and water. To date, microplastics have been detected in over 1,300 species, and evidence continues to emerge showing their impact from the cellular level to the entire ecosystem.
To investigate the effects of microplastics on the brain, the research team injected fluorescent-labeled microplastics into mice and tracked their movement using a microscope. This was the first time the movement of microplastics within a mouse's body was tracked in real-time. The results confirmed that microplastics penetrated the brain after crossing the blood-brain barrier, where they were phagocytosed by immune cells, forming aggregates.
The aggregates of microplastics and immune cells hindered cerebral blood flow and induced thrombosis. This vascular occlusion phenomenon did not cease in a short time but persisted for more than seven days and did not completely disappear even after 28 days. The mice involved in the study showed poor performance in memory and motor skills tests. This suggests that microplastics could adversely impact brain function indirectly by obstructing blood flow, even if they do not directly penetrate brain tissue.
The research team expressed concern about the long-term effects of microplastics on depression, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. Huang Haifeng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences, noted, "This study provides an important foundation for understanding the health risks posed by microplastics," and emphasized, "More research and investment are urgently needed."
Reference materials
Science Advances (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adr8243
Science (2024), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adl2746