Microplastics in urinary tract spark water safety concerns – A new study revealed their presence in kidney, bladder and urine samples. The research found microplastics in 68% of bladder cancer cases and linked them to inflammation and cell damage.
https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/microplastics-in-urinary-tract-sparks-water-safety-concerns
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I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41370-024-00709-3
From the linked article:
A new study challenges a WHO report on microplastics in drinking water, revealing their presence in kidney, bladder and urine samples. The Bond University-led research found microplastics in 68% of bladder cancer cases and linked them to inflammation and cell damage. The researchers urge further investigation into the health risks posed by microplastics in the human body.
The scoping review led by researchers from Bond University looked at 18 previous studies to assess the presence of microplastics and even smaller nanoplastics in the urinary tract.
They found the contaminants were in 54 percent of urine samples, 70 percent of kidney samples and 68 percent of bladder cancer cases.
The review concluded that the plastic debris harmed human urinary tract cells by causing toxicity and inflammation, reducing cell survival. They also disrupt MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signalling, a process that helps cells respond to growth signals and stress.
Well that takes the piss
Microplastic, along with pee, is stored in the balls. No surprise there really.
I thought microplastics is too small to see. Am I wrong, or is the image misleading? Are pieces like the ones in the image really found in humans?
Car tyres are one of the worst offenders for this
Modern asbestos/lead. Here we go.
How many of the bladder cancer cases had urea or dihydrogen monoxide present? I think we found our real culprit.
Edit: “They found the contaminants were in 54 percent of urine samples, 70 percent of kidney samples and 68 percent of bladder cancer cases.”
So… the MP were present at the same rate in the control population’s kidneys as they were in the cancer patients bladders. Why are we seeing three different statistics being pushed together like that? P-hacking? This was people scanning the online paper databases to find some disconnected, scary-sounding statistics.
Also: Gentle reminder from my wife (a metrologist) that measuring microplastics is still black art, and nobody knows what methods are trustworthy (if any) and which are full of false positives.
So, most of us are fucked!
Or food is prepared, packaged, distributed, sold, stored, cooked, and eaten all using plastic. Where could the microP be coming from?