The following is a summary of “First reported values of microplastics in the prostate,” published in the May 2024 issue of Urology by Demirelli et al.
Microplastics, pervasive environmental pollutants, are increasingly recognized for their unavoidable human exposure and potential health impacts. This study aimed to explore the presence of microplastics in prostate tissue, marking a novel investigation in this area.
Prostate tissues from 12 patients who underwent Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TUR-P) were analyzed for microplastic particles. Initially, the tissues were examined using a light microscope post-extraction to identify microplastics. Following this, the chemical composition of the detected particles was characterized using Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectrophotometry.
The analysis revealed microplastic particles in 6 out of the 12 patients. All identified particles were classified as microplastics, with sizes below 26 μm, and displayed a variety of shapes, including pellets, spheres, and fibers. Four distinct types of plastics were identified across the six positive samples. Polyamide (Nylon 6 was the most prevalent type) was found in samples from three patients. Other detected microplastics included Polypropylene, Polyacrylic Acid, and Poly(dimethylsiloxane).
This pioneering study demonstrates the presence of microplastics in prostate tissue, highlighting an unexplored aspect of microplastic contamination in human health. These findings underscore the need for further research to validate these results in a larger patient cohort and to understand the potential implications of microplastic presence in the prostate. This exploratory investigation serves as a crucial step toward unveiling the broader impacts of environmental pollutants on human health.
Source: bmcurol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12894-024-01495-8
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