by Scientists have found microplastics – the tiny and penetrating fragments in our seas, drinking water, food and increasingly lively tissue – in human sperm and follicular fluid.
A small group of 25 women and 18 men took part in research, which was published in the Human Reproduction magazine on Tuesday. Microplastics were detected in 69% of the follicular liquid samples and 55% of the seed fluid samples. Follicular fluid is the liquid that surrounds an egg in an ovarian fellow.
Research is a summary – a brief summary of the completed research – and has not yet been checked. It was presented on Tuesday in Paris at the 41st annual conference of the European Society for Human reproduction and embryology.
“Earlier studies had already proposed this opportunity, so the presence of microplastics in the human reproductive system is not completely unexpected,” said the leading research author Dr. Emilio Gómez-Sánchez, director of the assisted reproductive laboratory at the next fertility Murcia in Spain, in a statement made available to the press. “However, what surprised us is how widespread it is. This is not an isolated finding – it seems quite common.”
Dr. Richard Thompson from the University of Plymouth, who was not involved in research
Microplastics are polymer fragments with a size of less than 0.2 inches (5 millimeters) to 1/25,000. Customs (1 micrometer). Polymers are chemical compounds with long chains of large and repeating molecular units called monomers and are known for being flexible and durable. Most plastics are synthetic polymers.
Plastics smaller than the measuring criteria for microplastics are considered nanoplasty that are measured in billions of a measuring device.
“Microplastics mainly get into the body through three routes: intake, inhalation and skin contact,” said Gómez-Sánchez. “From there you can get into the bloodstream, which then distributes it throughout the body, also to the reproductive organs.”
In previous studies, the fragments were also demonstrated in different parts of the body or liquids such as lungs, placenta, brain, testicles, nose tissue at the base of the brain, the penises and the human chair.
“Decades of studies and the (US Food and Drug Administration) agree that microplastics are not a threat because the exposure is extremely low and they are not toxic,” said Dr. Chris Deart, founder of the Plastics Research Council, by email.
Although hardly or nothing is known about the potential effects of microplastics on human health, chemicals that are used in plastic production – which are often distributed by plastics – are health risks, including hormonal disorders, certain cancer, respiratory diseases and skin irritation.
Test body fluids for microplastics
The research participants were patients and donors at the next fertility Murcia. For assisted reproduction, the women were subjected to an egg revy, which was formally referred to as follicular aspiration, while the men were subjected to a seed analysis. The authors were and frozen the samples in glass and then incubated them for two days before analyzing imaging technology with microscopy and infrared laser.
The research team also analyzed the containers that were used to collect and save samples to ensure that they were not contaminated with microplastics. The abstract does not open the materials made of the collection containers.
The imaging showed nine types of microplastics in the reproductive fluids. Over 50% of the follicular fluid samples contained polyamide (PA), polyurethane (PU) and polyethylene (PE), while polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) and polyethylene -Ththalat (PET) were discovered in over 30% of follicular fluid samples.
Polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polylinic acid (PLA) occurred in over 20% of the follicle fluid samples.
In the seed samples, 56% ptfe contained.
Synthetic polyamide is generally known as a nylon and is often used in textiles, plastics and automotive parts. Polyurethane is usually used in coatings, foams and adhesives for furniture, construction, automotive parts, shoes and much more. Polyethylene and polypropylene are often found in packaging, construction uses and consumer goods such as toys and kitchen dishes.
The plastic is widespread in non -stick cookie, while PET occurs in many foods and beverage grooms. Polyvinyl chloride is often used in construction, packaging and medical industry, while PLA is mainly found in food packaging, medical implants and 3D printed objects.
In most rehearsals, the researchers found only one or two particles, but they discovered up to five in others, said Gómez-Sánchez. The microplastic concentrations were higher in follicular fluid than in seeds. The overall concentrations of the microplasty in both liquids were relatively low compared to the concentrations of not plastic particles. The abstract did not know what these were not plastic particles.
“Unfortunately, the results are not surprising,” said Dr. Matthew J. Campen – A researcher who led the discoveries of the microplasty in the brain and in the testicles – by e -mail.
Although research is temporary, it is “the prerequisites for more advanced studies on the relationship between plastics exposure and reproductive fitness,” added camps, who was not involved in the study and is a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico.
Important questions remain
The research confirmed earlier studies that had found microplastics in these reproductive fluids and raises important questions again, including the way this microplastics are absorbed in the intestine, then transported to the gonads, said Campen.
“This indicates that a very natural mechanism is kidnapped,” he added. “It would also be important to evaluate plastic in the nanoscale area.”
People who are trying to receive naturally or via in vitro fertilization may not have to be concerned about the results, since they are only temporary for the time being, said Gómez-Sánchez.
“We do not know whether they have a direct impact on a couple’s ability to receive a baby and carry a baby to the term,” he added. “Reproduction is a complex equation and microplastics is a variable in this equation.”
The results cannot yet be associated with more general health results, experts said.
“So far, the effects of microplastics on humans have mainly been extrapolated from animal studies in which microplastics were given in high concentrations,” said Gómez-Sánchez. “We are currently missing direct evidence of their effects on humans.”
Betsy Bowers, Executive Director of the EPS industry -Alliance, repeated these disclaimers and found that the results of animal research did not indicate any damage at regular levels of exposure. The EPS industry alliance (Expanded Polystyren) is a North American trade association that represents the EPS industry.
The finding that follicular liquid contained more microplastics than seeds can be cumbersome, added Gómez-Sánchez because the study group was low. However, if an ovary is stimulated for assisted reproduction, the blood flow rises to the ovary, which can provide the ovary more microplastics, he explained.
Additional research is required to identify the types and quantities of microplastics that could cause health problems, said Dr. Ranjith Ramasamy, consultant at the Jumeirah American Clinic in Dubai. Ramasamy, who was not involved in the study, directed research that found microplastics in Penises.
“The plan is to increase the number of cases and carry out a survey on life habits to determine whether one of these habits is associated with higher concentrations of plastics in the ovaries and the seed plasma,” said Gómez-Sánchez.
Gómez-Sánchez and the other researchers also plan to examine whether the presence of microplastics in reproductive fluids influences the quality of sperm and egg cells, he said. Oocytes are cells in ovaries that form an egg cell, a mature female reproductive cell that can share to generate an embryo when fertilization by sperm.
How to reduce your exposure to microplastics
The meaning of the results is not yet clear, but you should be regarded as an additional argument for avoiding the use of plastics in our daily life, said Dr. Carlos Calhaz-Jorge, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Lisbon in Portugal, in a press release. Calhaz-Jorge was not involved in research.
In view of the omnipresent of plastics, avoidance can be a challenge, said Dr. Philip Landrigan, pediatrician and director of the Global Public Health program and the common good at Boston College by e -mail. In addition to reducing the obvious use of plastic, you cannot avoid the use of plastic cutting boards and consumption of ultra -empowered foods.
Also limit drinking water made of plastic bottles, microwolping foods in plastic containers and consume hot food from plastic containers, said Ramasamy.
The food can be stored in glass, stainless steel or bamboo instead of plastic.
But “the conversation must immediately shift to political decision -makers,” said Campen. “The hope that individual decisions can make a difference was clearly a loss strategy. Federal governments around the world have to make significant changes to waste management and recycling guidelines.”
The annual plastic production by weight has increased by 250 times over the past 75 years and has been up to date until 2060, said Landrigan.
“In order to reduce the pollution of plastic and the protection of human health, it will be important that the global plastic contract, which is currently negotiating in the United Nations, is imposed on a global upper limit for plastic production,” added Landrigan, which was not involved in research.
“But intelligent governments can now act,” crowded camping.
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