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A case-control study linking concentrations of microplastics in human cerebrospinal fluid to intracranial aneurysm risk
Summary
In a case-control study, researchers detected seven types of microplastics in the cerebrospinal fluid of both intracranial aneurysm patients and controls, with polyethylene and polypropylene being the most abundant. The study found that higher levels of polypropylene and PVC in cerebrospinal fluid were associated with a significantly elevated risk of intracranial aneurysm, suggesting a potential link between microplastic exposure and cerebrovascular health.
Microplastics (MPs) have become a global concern due to their widespread environmental presence and human health risk, yet their risk on cerebrovascular diseases remains largely unexplored. In this case-control study, we collected cerebrospinal fluid samples from 48 intracranial aneurysms (IAs) patients and 108 leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) patients, and investigated the presence of MPs in these cerebrospinal fluid samples using pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Seven types of MPs were identified in the cerebrospinal fluid samples, among which polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polystyrene were present in over 80% of the samples. PE and PP were the most abundant MPs in cerebrospinal fluid samples. When using LM patients as controls, a significantly increased risk of IA was observed for subjects in the highest quartile of cerebrospinal fluid PP and PVC levels. Compared to the lowest quartile, the adjusted risk was elevated by 2.25-fold (95% CI: 1.68-5.94) and 3.82-fold (95% CI: 2.57-5.41) for PP and PVC levels, respectively. Our analysis revealed significant (p for trend <0.01) dose-response relationships between cerebrospinal fluid MP mixture concentrations and IA risk. Bayesian kernel machine regression and quantile g-computation models further revealed synergistic effects of co-occurrence to MPs, with PVC contributing the strongest contribution (weight 55.8%). Our results suggest a potential link between higher cerebrospinal fluid levels of MPs and elevated IA risk, and highlight the need for further investigation into this emerging health risk.