meta name="publication-media-verification"content="1ebe9089d92647b3b88294de308625d5
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Stroke / 03.04.2025

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sai Rahul Ponnana, M.S Advanced Data Analytics Research Analyst Cardiovascular Research Institute Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Wolstein Research Building, Cleveland, OH. 44106-7288 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Microplastics are tiny plastic particles less than 5 mm which have become a pervasive environmental pollutant, detectable in air, water, food, and even human tissues. While their ecological impacts have been well-documented, their influence on human health, particularly cardiovascular health, remains underexplored. Recent mechanistic studies suggest that microplastics can induce inflammation, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction, all of which are pathways implicated in chronic disease and ASCVD. In our study, we analyzed a total of 709 U.S. coastal census tracts to investigate the association between marine microplastic concentration data obtained from NOAA NCEI database and the prevalence of stroke and other chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as high blood pressure and diabetes, sourced from CDC places database. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Pediatrics / 21.07.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kazi Albab Hussain Graduate Student (PhD) Specialization: Water Resources Advisor: Professor  Yusong Li, PhD Associate Dean for Faculty and Inclusion MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Microplastics have been detected in various food items and beverages, including table salt, bottled water, fish, and mussels. The extensive use of plastic-based products in food preparation, storage, and handling has raised concerns about the direct release of microplastics. Interestingly, we often discuss microplastics but overlook nanoplastics in the conversation. Due to their smaller size, nanoplastics are harder to be detected. In our study, we wanted to see the release of both microplastics and nanoplastics, as nanoplastics may be even  more toxic than microplastics. Unfortunately, infants and toddlers are particularly vulnerable to the potential health impacts of micro- and nanoplastics. Studies have shown significant ingestion of these particles from polypropylene feeding bottles and silicone-rubber baby teats. We aimed to investigate the release of of micro- and nanoplastics, estimated their exposure for infants and toddlers, and evaluated their cytotoxicity to human embryonic kidney cells. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Nature, Pediatrics / 23.10.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. John Boland AMBER The SFI Research Centre for Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research, CRANN, and Trinity’s School of Chemistry Prof. Liwen Xiao at TrinityHaus and Trinity’s School of Engineering Trinity College Dublin baby-bottle-infant-plasticsMedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There is growing evidence to suggest that micro and nano plastics are released into our food and water sources through the chemical and physical degradation of larger plastic items. Some studies have demonstrated the potential transfer of micro and nano plastics from oceans to humans via the food chain but little is known about the direct release of microplastics (MPs) from plastic products through everyday use – and this is what we wanted to investigate.  Polypropylene (PP) is one of the most commonly produced plastics in the world for food preparation and storage. It is used to make everyday items such as lunch boxes, kettles and infant-feeding bottles (IFBs). Despite its widespread use the capacity of PP to release microplastics was not appreciated until now. We analysed the potential for release of MPs from polypropylene infant-feeding bottles (PP-IFBs) during formula preparation by following international guidelines. We also estimated the exposure of 12-month-old infants to MPs in 48 countries and regions.  (more…)