Microplastics found in human brains at higher concentrations than other organs, study reports

According to researchers at the University of New Mexico, a study published in Nature Medicine analyzed brain tissue samples from autopsies and compared samples from 2016 with those from 2024. The study detected 12 different polymers, with polyethylene being the most common, and found plastic particles measuring 200 nanometers or smaller.

University of New Mexico Health Sciences researchers have found microplastics in human brains, and at much higher concentrations than in other organs. Worse, the plastic accumulation appears to be growing over time, having increased by 50% over just the past eight years.

Source: UNM Health Sciences Center Newsroom, 2025. Quoted verbatim; read the full piece and judge it yourself.