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Scientists stumped to find clearing cholesterol from blood also removes forever chemicals from body
The Independent • • health
Key Points:
- A new study suggests that apheresis, a blood-filtering technique used to lower cholesterol, may also reduce levels of toxic "forever chemicals" in the body by up to 25 percent after treatment sessions.
- Forever chemicals, found in many consumer products and present in over 90% of people worldwide, accumulate in the body and are linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and weakened immunity.
- The study analyzed blood from 34 patients undergoing double-filtration plasmapheresis and observed a reduction in harmful cholesterol and certain forever chemicals, though no clear evidence was found for removing microplastics.
- Researchers emphasize that the findings are preliminary and not from a controlled clinical trial; further research involving animal studies with labeled microplastics is planned to better understand the filtration process.
- Experts caution that preventing exposure to these toxic substances remains the primary goal, as removing them after accumulation is more difficult and costly.
