Health Rounds: Microplastics in testicles may affect fertility
Hello Health Rounds Readers! Microplastics in the environment are known to make their way into human and animal tissues. Today we find that once in the testicles, the pollutants may impair fertility. And while most people would prefer to forget the coronavirus pandemic, we report on a study that may offer hope to those still suffering brain fog from long COVID.
Microplastics found in testicles may impair fertility
Researchers have found significant amounts of microplastics in the testicles of dogs and humans, and the canine data suggest the pollutants may be linked with impaired fertility.
Overall, the researchers found 12 types of microplastics in 47 canine and 23 human testes, they reported on Wednesday in Toxicological Sciences. None of the tissues were free of plastics.
Microplastics are minuscule pieces of plastic that result from the degradation of plastic products. They are ubiquitous in the environment and have been detected in drinking water and food, and ultimately in human tissue.
In dogs, the average concentration of microplastics in testicular tissue was 122.63 micrograms per gram of tissue. In human testicles the average concentration was 329.44 micrograms per gram – significantly higher than the average concentration the researchers had found in earlier studies of placental tissue.
The most prevalent polymer in both human and canine tissue was polyethylene (PE), which is used to make plastic bags and bottles.
In the dogs, higher levels of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) were linked with lower sperm count, but this was not true for PE levels.
“The plastic makes a difference – what type of plastic might be correlated with potential function,” study leader Dr. Xiaozhong “John” Yu of the University of New Mexico School of Nursing said in a statement.
PVC can release a lot of chemicals that interfere with sperm production and disrupt hormones, he added.
The dog testes were obtained from veterinarians after neutering surgeries. The human tissues were obtained after autopsies.
Yu noted that the average age of the humans had been 35 years, meaning their plastics exposure began decades ago, when there was less plastic in circulation.
“The impact on the younger generation might be more concerning,” now that there is more plastic than ever in the environment, he said.
Long COVID brain fog may be treatable with antiviral drugs
The brain fog associated with long COVID involves inflammatory changes in the nervous system that are not the same as what is seen in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, according to a new study.
Furthermore, the inflammatory changes are likely to be treatable with antiviral drugs such as interferon, the researchers believe.
Earlier research had suggested that patients with long COVID may display molecular features of Alzheimer’s disease. The new findings, published in Cell Reports Medicine, show long COVID does not elicit Alzheimer’s-type molecular changes after all.
Long COVID, which can persist for months or longer after infection with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, is associated with many symptoms including mental impairment often referred to as brain fog.
In 30 patients with persistent long COVID brain fog, immune cells in the cerebrospinal fluid more closely resembled what is seen in viral infections, the researchers said.
“The findings from our study lead us to believe that (treatment with) interferon – the body’s natural antiviral – and other drugs which target COVID-19 will be most beneficial in people with long COVID,” Dr. William Hu of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey said in a statement.
“Because brain fog ... shares gene signatures with acute infections, future clinical trials should focus on interferon- and antiviral-based therapies instead of rehabilitation or brain training to expedite the recovery time for patients experiencing brain fog and other long COVID symptoms,” said Hu.