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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Nanoplastics exposure exacerbates Aβ plaque deposition in Alzheimer’s disease mice by inducing microglia pyroptosis
ClearMicroglial clearance of Alzheimer's amyloid-beta obstructed by nanoplastics
Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics interfere with the brain's ability to clear amyloid-beta, the protein that builds up in Alzheimer's disease. The nanoplastics accelerated amyloid clumping and drained the energy of brain immune cells that normally clean up these harmful proteins. This study suggests that nanoplastic exposure could worsen or contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease.
Cerebral to SystemicRepresentations of Alzheimer’sPathogenesis Stimulated by Polystyrene Nanoplastics
Researchers exposed both wild-type and APP/PS1 Alzheimer's model mice to environmental levels of polystyrene nanoplastics and measured Alzheimer's-like pathology progression. Nanoplastics exacerbated cognitive decline, microglial activation, and hippocampal neuronal death, particularly in the Alzheimer's model, with systemic inflammatory effects suggesting plastic particles may accelerate neurodegeneration.
Uncovering the impact of nano- and microplastics on neurodegenerative diseases and strategies to mitigate their damage
Researchers reviewed evidence that micro- and nanoplastics may contribute to the progression of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases by triggering brain inflammation, disrupting mitochondria (the cell's power source), and damaging the blood-brain barrier. The review also found that natural compounds like melatonin and probiotics show early promise in reducing some of these harmful effects.
Exposure to Polystyrene Microplastics Promotes the Progression of Cognitive Impairment in Alzheimer’s Disease: Association with Induction of Microglial Pyroptosis
In a mouse study, polystyrene microplastics worsened cognitive decline in an Alzheimer's disease model by triggering a type of inflammatory cell death called pyroptosis in brain immune cells. The microplastics caused brain inflammation that accelerated memory loss and cognitive impairment beyond what Alzheimer's alone caused. This is one of the first studies suggesting that microplastic exposure could make neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's progress faster.
Short-Term Exposure to Polystyrene Microplastics Alters Cognition, Immune, and Metabolic Markers in an APOE Genotype and Sex-Dependent Manner
Researchers exposed Alzheimer's disease mouse models to polystyrene microplastics for a short term and observed worsened cognitive performance, altered immune markers, and disrupted metabolic pathways, suggesting that MP exposure may accelerate neurological decline in individuals already vulnerable to dementia.
Polystyrene nanoplastics induced learning and memory impairments in mice by damaging the glymphatic system
Mice exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics through different routes developed learning and memory problems linked to damage in their brain's waste-clearing system, called the glymphatic system. Amino-modified nanoplastics caused the most severe effects, disrupting the channels that normally flush toxins from the brain during sleep, suggesting a mechanism by which plastic pollution could contribute to cognitive decline.
Food-borne polystyrene microplastic exposure exacerbates cognitive deficiency via enhanced neuronal synaptic damage and neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease
This study exposed Alzheimer's disease model mice (APP/PS1) to polystyrene microplastics via food and found that MP exposure worsened cognitive deficits by exacerbating hippocampal mitochondrial damage and neuroinflammation. The results suggest MP exposure may accelerate Alzheimer's disease progression in vulnerable individuals.
Cerebral to Systemic Representations of Alzheimer’s Pathogenesis Stimulated by Polystyrene Nanoplastics
Researchers found that environmentally realistic levels of polystyrene nanoplastics worsened Alzheimer's disease symptoms in mice, triggering brain inflammation, neuron death, and cognitive decline. The nanoplastics also disrupted metabolism and caused organ damage beyond the brain, including liver and kidney effects. This study provides some of the first evidence that nanoplastic exposure could accelerate brain diseases like Alzheimer's, especially as nanoplastics have been found in human brain tissue.
Exposure to microplastics/ nanoplastics induces responses of microglia and astrocytes: roles of oxidative stress and autophagy
This study examined how microplastic and nanoplastic exposure affects glial cells in the central nervous system, specifically investigating responses of microglia and astrocytes, which are the brain's primary immune and support cells. Results showed that micro- and nanoplastic exposure triggered inflammatory-type responses in these cells, raising concern for neurological effects.
Exposure to nanoplastics exacerbates light pollution hazards to mammalian
Researchers discovered that nanoplastics can enter the brain's master clock region, called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and disrupt circadian rhythms in mice. When nanoplastic exposure was combined with artificial light pollution, the disruption to sleep-wake cycles, metabolism, and immune function was significantly worse than from either stressor alone. The study is the first to show that nanoplastics can amplify the harmful effects of light pollution on mammalian health.
Exposure to microplastics/ nanoplastics induces responses of microglia and astrocytes: roles of oxidative stress and autophagy
This study investigated how microplastic and nanoplastic exposure affects glial cells including microglia and astrocytes in the central nervous system, which are essential for neurological immune defense and homeostasis. Exposure triggered reactive responses in both cell types, raising concern that plastic particle accumulation in the brain could contribute to neuroinflammation.
Micro- and nanoplastic toxicity in humans: Exposure pathways, cellular effects, and mitigation strategies
This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics enter the body through food, air, and skin, then accumulate in organs where they trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, cell death, and genetic damage. These effects have been linked to chronic conditions like diabetes, obesity, immune dysfunction, and brain diseases, and the review highlights promising countermeasures including advanced filtration, bioremediation, and protective compounds like melatonin and probiotics.
Effects of Microplastic Accumulation on Neuronal Death After Global Cerebral Ischemia
Researchers found that microplastics worsened brain damage after a stroke-like event in mice, increasing inflammation, damaging the protective coating around nerve fibers, and causing more brain cell death. The microplastics also triggered the release of abnormal tau proteins, similar to what happens in Alzheimer's disease, suggesting that microplastic exposure could make the brain more vulnerable to injury and neurodegenerative conditions.
A novel risk factor for dementia: chronic microplastic exposure
This review examines emerging evidence that chronic microplastic exposure may be a previously overlooked risk factor for dementia. Microplastics can cross the blood-brain barrier and may promote brain damage through oxidative stress, inflammation, and by accelerating the buildup of amyloid plaques linked to Alzheimer's disease, with studies finding higher microplastic levels in the brains of dementia patients compared to controls.
Short-term PS-NP exposure in early adulthood induces neuronal damage in middle-aged mice via microglia-mediated neuroinflammation
Researchers orally dosed young mice with polystyrene nanoplastics for one week and observed, ten months later, that particles persisted in brain tissue and drove microglial-mediated neuroinflammation, synapse loss, and cognitive impairment — with minocycline treatment confirming that microglial activation was the key driver of long-term neuronal damage.
From exposure to neurotoxicity induced by micro-nanoplastics with brain accumulation and cognitive decline
This review synthesizes evidence that micro- and nanoplastics can reach the brain by crossing the blood-brain barrier or traveling along nerve pathways, accumulating in regions critical for memory and thinking. Animal studies show that chronic exposure leads to cognitive problems, behavioral changes, and brain changes resembling neurodegenerative diseases, driven by oxidative stress, inflammation, and disruption of the gut-brain connection. The findings raise concern that long-term human exposure to nanoplastics through food and air could contribute to cognitive decline and neurological disease.
Microplastic Exposure Promotes Amyloid Misfolding and Metabolic Impairment at Sub-Lethal Doses in an In Vitro Cellular Model of Alzheimer’s Disease
Researchers exposed cellular models of Alzheimer's disease to sub-lethal polystyrene microplastics and nanoplastics and monitored amyloid protein misfolding and metabolic impairment using photothermal microscopy. Even low-dose plastic exposure promoted amyloid aggregation and disrupted cellular energy metabolism, suggesting microplastics may accelerate the molecular processes underlying Alzheimer's pathology.
Alzheimer’s disease: the role of extrinsic factors in its development, an investigation of the environmental enigma
This review examines how environmental contaminants, including microplastics, may contribute to Alzheimer's disease risk. Along with air pollutants, toxic metals, and pesticides, plastics and microplastics are identified as potential risk factors that may promote brain inflammation and neurodegeneration. The review explores the molecular mechanisms behind these effects and suggests strategies to reduce the brain health impacts of environmental contaminants.
Neurotoxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on memory and microglial activation: Insights from in vivo and in vitro studies
In a mouse study, tiny nanoplastics (30-50 nanometers) that were swallowed reached the brain and caused memory problems by activating the brain's immune cells, called microglia, which triggered inflammation. This is concerning because it shows that nanoplastics small enough to be found in everyday products like cosmetics could cross into the brain and impair cognitive function.
DMSP for 'Quantitative Assessment of Nanoplastics in Alzheimer's Disease Brain and Their Role in Amyloid-β Aggregation'
Researchers quantitatively assessed nanoplastic contamination in Alzheimer's disease brain tissue and investigated whether nanoplastics play a role in amyloid-beta aggregation. The study suggests that nanoplastics, now ubiquitous in the environment and present in drinking water and food, may represent an environmental factor that could modify Alzheimer's disease pathology by interacting with amyloid-beta protein aggregation.
A new mechanism for ubiquitination in polystyrene nanoplastic-induced spatial cognitive dysfunction through microglial activation-induced apoptosis of neurons
Researchers found that polystyrene nanoparticles disrupt microglial lipid metabolism in the brain by suppressing the protein RNF139, which leads to SREBP activation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and inflammatory signaling that ultimately kills neurons and impairs spatial memory in mice.
Impact of nanoplastics on Alzheimer ’s disease: Enhanced amyloid-β peptide aggregation and augmented neurotoxicity
Researchers found that even very low concentrations of polystyrene nanoplastics can speed up the clumping of amyloid-beta protein, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, and increase its toxicity to brain cells. The hydrophobic (water-repelling) surface of the nanoplastics helps the proteins stick together faster, suggesting a potential link between environmental nanoplastic exposure and increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.
Nano- and Microplastics in the Brain: An Emerging Threat to Neural Health
This review summarizes evidence that nano- and microplastics can cross the blood-brain barrier and accumulate in brain tissue, where they trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, and protein clumping linked to diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The findings suggest that plastic particles may also interfere with the brain's ability to heal from injury, though long-term human studies are still lacking.
Elucidating the Neurotoxicopathological Impact of Micro and Nanoplastics: Mechanistic Insights Into Oxidative Stress-mediated Neurodegeneration and Implications for Public Health in a Plastic Pervasive Era
Researchers reviewed the growing evidence linking micro- and nanoplastic exposure to neurodegenerative diseases, identifying oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, DNA damage, and protein misfolding as key mechanisms of harm to the brain. The review highlights critical knowledge gaps — especially around chronic low-dose exposure — and calls for better detection tools and public health policies to address the emerging neurological threat from plastic pollution.