Microplastics and erection, what do they have to do with each other?

If the title has led you to click on the article intrigued by who knows what exciting fantasy, you can close the window and move on to something else. Not just menopause, gender violence, women in difficult conditions, victims of abuse and injustice in their paychecks: today we talk about the other half of the sky, and the recent discoveries that are anything but encouraging. Pollution and infertility: these are the key words that emerged from a recent study on microplastics, traces of which have been discovered, for the first time, inside male genitalia, raising pressing questions about their potential role in the field of erectile dysfunction. And it’s not surprising: infinitesimal particles of plastic materials have been found everywhere, from the summit of Everest to the depths of the oceans, from rain to the air we breathe. And also in numerous analyses on testicles and seminal fluid of men and males of other animals (including dogs), in particular PET and polypropylene, used in food and drink packaging and in other common and everyday items.

Data regarding male fertility declare a sharp decline in recent decades and in light of the evidence that has emerged it is imperative to continue research on these possible connections. Scholars consider the penis to be particularly vulnerable, subject to contamination with microplastics precisely because of the significant blood flow during erections. But where do all these microplastics in the blood come from?

From food, from the liquids we drink, even from our breath. This is a piece of a much broader and more widespread contamination that concerns the human body and which in fact highlights the presence of microplastics almost everywhere, with an impact on human health that is still too little explored but whose harmful impact on human cells has been demonstrated to date during multiple laboratory analyses. These particles, derived from tons of plastic waste released into the environment every year and reduced to fragments that are often almost invisible but certainly not harmless, can cause inflammation in the tissues and an increase in the risk of heart attacks and fatal heart attacks.

“The penis is a vascular and spongy organ, so it is very vulnerable,” said Dr. Ranjith Ramasamy, first author of the research from the University of Miami. “We know that erectile dysfunction depends on numerous factors, which combine hormonal, neurological, blood and muscular health.” In recent decades, sperm count has significantly decreased and in 40% of cases it still remains unexplained, even if chemical pollution is implicated in a significant number of cases that, even in laboratory experiments, leads to anomalies and hormonal dysfunctions.

We have reached a point where the problem is no longer determining whether or not we have microplastics in our body, but what is the level beyond which the conditions become pathological.

The research, published in the scientific journal «IJIR: Your Sexual Medicine Journal», analyzes tissue samples from men who underwent surgery to implant an inflatable prosthesis in the penis, one of the options considered for those who suffer from serious erectile dysfunction. The researchers realized the alarming and pervasive spread of microplastics and are intent on investigating the possible implications for human health. One of the risks that Dr. Ramasamy highlights is that linked for example to the plastic bottles we drink from, to takeaway containers for food and the habit of many of heating food in the microwave in plastic containers, which contribute to introducing into our body “substances that should not be there”. And perhaps, in a world dominated by an undoubted attention to the male genital organ, starting from there to awaken consciences on the issue of pollution from microplastics could definitely be an idea to consider.