Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and plastic particles may not drift through the bloodstream alone. The working hypothesis is that they bind lipids and proteins, forming aggregates that persist for years. A team at Technische Universität Dresden asked whether therapeutic apheresis, an extracorporeal therapy developed to strip lipoproteins from patients with severe dyslipidemia, also removes such contaminants. In small exploratory cohorts, PFAS and micro- and nanoplastic levels decreased in patient blood after double filtration plasmapheresis, with PFAS detectable in the discarded eluate. Raman spectroscopy located plastic particles inside human skin. Responses varied across individuals and analytes, and the mechanism remains unknown.

USC researchers have developed an approach that uses artificial intelligence to generate detailed maps that highlight differences in how distinct parts of the brain age. The new model also sheds light on how patterns of brain changes correlate with changes in cognitive function across the lifespan, according to a new USC study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.