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White matter hyperintensities and microplastics
Summary
Researchers aligned ante-mortem and post-mortem brain MRI scans and found large amounts of plastic particles in brain regions showing white matter hyperintensities, which are associated with small vessel disease. Using a novel optical imaging approach, they identified the cellular locations of these plastics in areas with vascular injury and amyloid plaques. The study raises important questions about whether microplastics in the brain contribute to or result from pre-existing vascular damage in people with cognitive impairment.
ABSTRACT Synopsis White matter hyperintensities are abnormalities that appear in MRI scans of living patients but are not apparent in MRI post-mortem. Goal Our goal is to understand the cellular/biological basis of white matter hyperintensities (WMH). Approach We aligned post-mortem MR scans with those collected ante-mortem and performed histopathology and pyrGC/MS for plastics on regions with WMH. Result PyrGC/MS detected large amounts of plastics and we determined their cellular locations with a novel optical imaging approach in regions with small vessel disease and Abeta plaques. Impact Microplastics in the brains of people with cognitive impairment may be due to pre-existing vascular injury or contribute to it. Many questions remain: Where do they come from, do they impair function? Can they be diagnosed by MRI ante-mortem?