Detection of Microplastics in Human Granulosa Cells and in the Follicular Fluid of Women Undergoing ICSI Treatment (MP2021)

Infertility Treatment Center Dortmund

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Female Infertility; Environmental Exposure

Treatments: Other: Microplastics

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05179993

Microplastic

Details and patient eligibility

About

Plastic products have been used ubiquitously in the modern world for many decades - for example as packaging materials, textile fibers or molded parts. The general use and especially the improper disposal lead to enormous environmental pollution almost everywhere on earth.

Microplastics mainly originate from fragmentation of larger plastic objects or can be produced directly for the use in e.g. cosmetics or industrial dyes.

Microplastics have already been detected in fresh- and seawater, soil, food, but also in human blood and urine. The accumulation of microplastics in ovarian and testicular tissue in humans has not yet been investigated.

Full description

Plastic products have been used ubiquitously in the modern world for many decades - for example as packaging materials, textile fibers or molded parts. The general use and especially the improper disposal lead to enormous environmental pollution almost everywhere on earth. In particular microplastics, by definition plastic particles with a diameter of less than 5mm, could pose a hazard to animals, humans and nature. Microplastics mainly originate from fragmentation of larger plastic objects or can be produced directly for the use in e.g. cosmetics or industrial dyes.

Microplastics have already been detected in fresh- and seawater, soil, food, but also in human blood and urine. The accumulation of microplastics in ovarian and testicular tissue in humans has not yet been investigated.

The presence of microplastics in reproductive tissue could also have negative consequences for reproduction. In oysters, waterfleas and mice, an impairment of reproduction due to the bioaccumulation of microplastics has already been described. Overall, current understanding of the effects of microplastics on human fertility and overall mammalian health is very limited.

Samples will be analyzed using Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

Enrollment: 100 estimated patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• The patients to be included should be ≥18 years of age undergoing an intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment. There is no upper limit for patient age.

Exclusion criteria

• none

Trial design

100 participants in 1 patient group

Study Group

Description:

Proof of principle Study group: detection of microplastics in human granulosa cells and in the follicular fluid of women undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment

Treatment:

Other: Microplastics