Environmental Pollutants and Neurological Disorders

Summary

Environmental pollutants have emerged as a major global health concern, with growing evidence linking exposure to both traditional contaminants such as heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic) and novel pollutants-including micro- and nanoplastics, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), antibiotics, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals-to adverse neurological outcomes. These pollutants can cross or disrupt the blood-brain barrier, accumulate in neural tissue, and trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, epigenetic modifications, and metabolic reprogramming.

Brain tumours and cerebrovascular diseases represent two major categories of neurosurgical disorders with high morbidity and mortality. However, their interaction with environmental pollutant exposure remains poorly understood. Recent studies suggest that pollutant-induced molecular alterations, such as aberrant DNA methylation, lipid metabolism disruption, and neurovascular endothelial dysfunction, may contribute to tumour initiation, malignant progression, aneurysm formation, and stroke occurrence.

Given the increasing human exposure to these pollutants and the lack of large-scale clinical data, it is urgent to establish a systematic investigation in neurosurgical patients. This study aims to profile pollutant exposure (heavy metals, PFAS, microplastics, and other novel contaminants) using multi-biospecimen analysis (blood, urine, hair, tumour and peri-tumour tissues), and to explore their mechanistic links to the pathogenesis of brain tumours and cerebrovascular diseases. The findings are expected to provide new evidence for understanding environment-brain interactions and to identify potential biomarkers for disease risk stratification and prevention.

Conditions

• Cerebrovascular Disorders
• Brain Tumours
• Alzheimer Dementia

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences

  collaborator OTHER

• Nanjing University

  collaborator OTHER

• Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Peking Union Medical College

  collaborator OTHER

• National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Beijing Tiantan Hospital

  lead OTHER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-08-01

Primary Completion

2025-12-31

Completion

2027-08-01

Countries

• China

Study Locations