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Hello to the readers of Health Rounds! On the occasion of plastic day, we present surprising, positive or disconcerting news. We also highlight the first promising research on chronic inflammation.
A popular painler can be made from plastic waste
Researchers have discovered that common bacteria can transform plastic waste into acetaminophen, an over -the -counter analgesic.
Acetaminophen, the main ingredient of tylenol and also known as paracetamol in some countries, is generally made from fossil fuels.
The new method, developed with the support of Astrazeneca Azn.l, transforms a widely used plastic molecule, polyethylene terephtlass (PET), into the active ingredient of Tylenol, by producing practically any carbon emissions, according to a report published in Nature Chemistry.
Plastic is transformed into a drug temperature medication in less than 24 hours, thanks to a fermentation process similar to that used for brewing beer, the researchers said.
PET, a solid and light plastic used for water bottles and food packaging, represents more than 350 million tonnes of waste per year.
“This work shows that PET plastic is not only a waste or material intended to become even more plastic. It can be transformed by microorganisms into new value products, including those who have a potential for the treatment of diseases,” said Stephen Wallace, responsible for the study at the University of Edinburgh, in a press release.
Other work is necessary before the PET can be used to produce acetaminophen at commercial levels, the researchers said.
Microplastics in human reproductive fluids
The majority of men and women have microplastics in their reproductive fluids, according to the results of a small study presented during the meeting of the European society of human reproduction and embryology in Paris.
The presence of microplastics raises important questions as to the potential risks they represent for fertility and reproductive health, the researchers said.
The tiny contaminants – plastic particles of less than 5 millimeters – were present in the follicular fluid which envelops the eggs in development in ovaries in 20 women out of 29, or 69 %. Microplastics were found in the seminal fluid of 12 men out of 22, or 55 %.
These two types of liquid play an essential role in natural conception and assisted procreation, the researchers said.
In the two groups, microplastic polymers included polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon), polystyrene, terephtan polyethylene, polyamide, polypropylene and polyurethane.
In animals, microplastics can cause inflammation, tissue and DNA damage, as well as hormonal disturbances, said Emilio Gomez-Sanchez, study manager at Next Fertility Murcia, Spain, in a press release.
In another presentation,, Manel Boussabeh, of the Fattouma Bourguiba hospital in Monastir, Tunisia, and his colleagues indicated that the sperm exposed to microplastics in test tubes had reduced mobility and DNA lesions.
Other researchers had already found significant quantities of microplastics in the testicles of dogs and humans, and the data concerning dogs suggested that particles could contribute to the alteration of fertility.
Restoration of a protein can stop chronic inflammation
According to a report published in Nature, researchers can stop chronic inflammation while leaving cells intact intact cells to respond to short -term injuries and diseases by targeting a newly identified protein.
Chronic inflammation occurs when the immune system is blocked in over -regime, as is the case for persistent conditions such as arthritis, inflammatory intestine diseases or obesity. Acute inflammation – with pain, fever, swelling and redness, for example – is relatively quickly.
Researchers discovered that a protein responsible for controlling inflammatory genes deteriorates and disappears from cells in the event of chronic inflammation.
During the test -to -proof experiences, the restoration of the protein called WSTF blocked chronic inflammation in human cells without interfering with acute inflammation, thus allowing appropriate immune responses to short -term threats.
The researchers then designed a drug that protects the WSTF from degradation and removes chronic inflammation by blocking the interaction of the WSTF with another protein in the cell nucleus.
Researchers have successfully tested the drug to treat mice suffering from fatty liver or arthritis disease and to reduce inflammation in chronically fiery knee cells obtained in patients with a joint replacement surgery.
By studying samples of human tissue, the researchers discovered that the WSTF disappeared in the liver of patients with hepatic steatosis, but not in that of healthy people.
“Chronic inflammatory diseases are the source of a large number of suffering and death, but we still have a lot to learn about the causes of chronic inflammation and how to treat it,” said Zhixun Dou, Massachusetts General Hospital, responsible for the study, in a press release.
“Our results help us to distinguish chronic inflammation from acute inflammation and to identify a new target to stop chronic inflammation which results from aging and disease
