Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Are Everywhere—New Study Has Linked Them to Cell Death in Our Nervous System

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This Is Your Brain on Forever Chemicals Getty Images

A new study is illuminating how “forever chemicals” can alter our brain cells by impairing the genes that maintain healthy neurons, the cells of our nervous system. Scientists are only beginning to uncover how these molecules can trigger changes in our bodies’ organs and systems, but some evidence links forever chemicals to cell death in the nervous system, according to the study.

Many kinds of plastic contain chemical compounds that are indestructible. They do not break down into a nontoxic material that the environment can absorb safely. Instead, forever chemicals contaminate soil, water, and air—and are even found in our bodies.

For instance, researchers at The State University of New York at Buffalo recently discovered that when 11 genes that play a significant role in regulating neuron health were exposed to six particular Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) compounds, the forever chemicals altered the genes’ natural activity.

Among the compounds the team tested, a type of forever chemical known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) hit genes the hardest, in a way that diminished the growth of synapses, the region where nerve signals are transmitted and received. It also reduced the survival of neurons, according to the study, published in the December 18 issue of ACS Chemical Neuroscience.

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Like other forever chemicals, PFOAs are useful because they don’t interact with other chemicals. They are found in everyday objects, such as nonstick cookware coating, food packaging, and firefighting foams. The first PFAS compounds were made in labs in the 1940s. Over decades of use, they are now so pervasive that they are detectable in household dust, drinking water, and even our blood.

After exposure to the PFAS compounds tested, these 11 genes behaved differently. In particular, one gene that is key to neuron survival “expressed less,” meaning it produced less of the protein needed to perform a particular function. In essence, these PFAS chemicals partially disabled the gene. At the same time, they caused another gene linked to neuronal cell death to express more, effectively contributing to cell death.

Aside from the genes in which researchers saw alterations due to PFAS exposure, the study showed that forever chemicals alter more than 700 other neuronal genes. Despite that number, the research team found no correlation between how much PFAS accumulates in a cell and how altered gene behavior would be. So, the team concluded that the changes in gene expression likely depend upon the particular molecular structure of each type of PFAS the gene comes into contact with. Every PFAS compound has a different shape and size. That’s why this study barely scratches the surface of understanding the extent of how PFAS affects genes, and further research is needed, lead coauthor G. Ekin Atilla-Gokcumen, Ph.D., says in a university press release.

However, this study is significant, because these 11 genes could light a path for understanding PFAS’ biological impact. They inhibit healthy neuron functioning, which makes them neurotoxic, according to the study. There is a possible link between PFAS accumulation in the brain and “attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and an increased cause of death from Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease in elderly populations,” according to an earlier 2022 study that looked at neurotransmission of PFAS. But scientists don’t currently know how genes would behave if PFAS increasingly accumulates in cells, so it’s hard to predict specific health implications.

“Our findings indicate these genes may be markers to detect and monitor PFAS-induced neurotoxicity in the future,” Atilla-Gokcumen says.

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