The new study is the first to find microplastics in human penile tissue. In May, another study found microplastics in all human testicles analyzed, and researchers said the finding could be linked to lower sperm counts.
In the most recent analysis, the team assessed tissue from six men who had undergone surgeries to treat erectile dysfunction and found seven types of microplastics, some as small as two micrometres, in 80 per cent of the samples.
The researchers also report that about half of the microplastics found were polyethylene terephthalate, widely used in textiles and plastic packaging; For example, polypropylene, used to make household appliances, accounts for almost 35% of these substances, some of which are about half a millimeter in size.
The findings raise “questions about the impact of environmental pollutants on male sexual health,” according to the researchers behind the study, published in the scientific journal Nature.
The team now intends to conduct further research to understand what mechanism explains why microplastics remain in the penis and whether they may even cause erectile dysfunction.
Microplastics are everywhere, as we already know, from the bottom of the oceans to the top of Everest, and also in the human body (they were first discovered in blood in 2022 and in all human placentas analyzed in a study conducted in March this year). The scientific community has warned that the presence of these substances may be linked to an increase in inflammatory bowel disease and cancers such as colon cancer.
Author: Sara Borges dos Santos
Source: CM Jornal
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