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Association of microplastics in human cerebrospinal fluid with Alzheimer's disease-related changes
He P, Wang F, Xi G, Li Y, Wang F, Wang H, Li L, Ma X et al.. Journal of hazardous materials, 2025-05-26
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
To investigate potential associations between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) microplastics and Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology or cognitive function. The study included two cohorts: Cohort 1 comprised 17 amyloid-positive and 15 amyloid-negative subjects, while Cohort 2 consisted of 11 amyloid-positive subjects. All amyloid-positive participants in Cohort 1 completed one-year follow-up. CSF amyloid-β(Aβ)42, Aβ40, p-tau181, and t-tau were measured. Amyloid status defined by CSF Aβ42/40 ratio (positive: < 0.1; negative: ≥ 0.1). Four types of microplastics, namely polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), and polystyrene, were detected in human CSF. Bottled water consumption frequency and CSF/serum albumin ratio significantly correlated with CSF microplastic abundance. In Cohort 1, amyloid-positive subjects exhibited significantly elevated CSF levels of PE and PVC as compared to amyloid-negative subjects. In amyloid-positive subjects (Cohort 1 and 2), CSF PE levels showed significant inverse correlations with both CSF Aβ42 levels and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. In amyloid-positive individuals of Cohort 1, elevated PE levels positively correlated with MMSE decline rate over one year. The levels of CSF Aβ42 served as an intermediary factor, significantly affecting the relationship between CSF PE and MMSE scores in amyloid-positive subjects of cohort 1. In Cohort 1, the CSF levels of PE and PVC demonstrated an area under the curve value of greater than 0.8, indicating their strong potential to differentiate between amyloid-positive and amyloid-negative individuals. These discoveries suggested that the gradual accumulation of microplastics in the CSF were associated with cognitive decline among AD individuals.
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APA 7th
He, P., Wang, F., Xi, G., Li, Y., Wang, H., Li, L., et al. (2025). Association of microplastics in human cerebrospinal fluid with Alzheimer's disease-related changes. Journal of hazardous materials. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.138748
Vancouver
He P, Wang F, Xi G, Li Y, Wang H, Li L, et al. Association of microplastics in human cerebrospinal fluid with Alzheimer's disease-related changes. Journal of hazardous materials. 2025. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.138748. PMID: 40435616.
BibTeX
@article{he2025-40435616,
author = {He, P. and Wang, F. and Xi, G. and Li, Y. and Wang, H. and Li, L. and Ma, X. and others},
title = {{Association of microplastics in human cerebrospinal fluid with Alzheimer's disease-related changes}},
journal = {Journal of hazardous materials},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.138748},
pmid = {40435616},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.138748}
}
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Key findings
- Bottled water consumption frequency and CSF/serum albumin ratio significantly correlated with CSF microplastic abundance.
- In Cohort 1, amyloid-positive subjects exhibited significantly elevated CSF levels of PE and PVC as compared to amyloid-negative subjects.
- In amyloid-positive subjects (Cohort 1 and 2), CSF PE levels showed significant inverse correlations with both CSF Aβ42 levels and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores.
- The levels of CSF Aβ42 served as an intermediary factor, significantly affecting the relationship between CSF PE and MMSE scores in amyloid-positive subjects of cohort 1.
- In Cohort 1, the CSF levels of PE and PVC demonstrated an area under the curve value of greater than 0.8, indicating their strong potential to differentiate between amyloid-positive and amyloid-negative individuals.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 26 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 45 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of hazardous materials) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40435616) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 26 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 26 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 45 out of 100. |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
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