(HealthDay News) — In a finding that suggests that microplastics could pose a special danger to men, a new study has shown that Human testicles contain these small pieces of plastic at levels three times higher than those observed in animal testes and human placentas.
“They look like little fragments, little broken pieces of very, very old plastics,” said lead researcher Matthew Campen, regents professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. His team’s findings were published in a recent issue of the journal Toxicological Sciences.
“This is an eyes-wide-open situation right now.”Campen told CNN. “We are only now realizing how much plastic there is in our bodies. “We need a surge of research around this topic to confirm or deny the role of microplastics in infertility, testicular cancer and other types of cancer.”
The evidence is already piling up: Once inside the body, these tiny particles can invade cells and tissues in major organsexperts say, disrupting cellular processes and potentially depositing endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenols, phthalates, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and heavy metals.
Endocrine disruptors can trigger genital and reproductive malformations, as well as female infertility and a drop in sperm count, according to the Endocrine Society.
In particular, sperm counts in some parts of the world, including the United States, have decreased by at least 50% over the past 50 years, the society adds.
In the new study, researchers evaluated 23 preserved testicles from cadavers who were between 16 and 88 years old when they died. They then compared the levels of 12 different types of plastics in those testicles with the plastics found in 47 dog testicles.
“The levels of microplastic fragments and types of plastics in human testicles were three times higher than those found in dogs, and the dogs are eating off the ground,” Campen said. “So it really puts into perspective what we’re putting into our own bodies.”
The researchers expected to find more plastic fragments in the testicles of the older men in the study, but that was not the case, Campen noted.
“It appears that in men’s peak reproductive years, which is ages 20 to 45, there are higher levels of plastics, which then begin to decline after age 55,” he said. “This suggests that the human body can eliminate these plastics.”
The less positive aspect of that finding suggests that the higher energy needs of a younger testicle could “attract more plastic to that organ,” Campen added.
“Add to that the fact that the amount of plastics we are exposed to is doubling at a rate of every 10 to 15 years,” he said. “So what’s going to happen in 15 years when we’re exposed to twice the amount or in 30 years when we’re exposed to four times the amount? That’s why action now is desperately needed.”
The researchers also compared the testes results to the levels of microplastics found in a previous study in 62 human placentas. In that study, also led by Campen, researchers found microplastics at levels of 6.5 to 790 micrograms per gram of tissue in all placenta samples studied.
“In the testicles, the plastic levels were three times higher than what we saw in the placentas,” Campen said. “But you have to keep in mind that the placenta only has a lifespan of about eight months.”
The latest study is not the first report to find plastics in human reproductive tissue, CNN reported.
A team of Chinese researchers found microplastics in six human testicles and 30 semen samples in a June 2023 study.
More information
Harvard Medicine has more information on microplastics.
SOURCE: Toxicological Sciences, May 15, 2024; cnn
