Apheresis study finds PFAS and microplastics drop after blood filtering

A study from Technische Universität Dresden found that therapeutic apheresis, a blood-filtering treatment used for high cholesterol, also reduced PFAS and some microplastic measures in patients. Researchers say the results are promising but preliminary, with small samples and no proof yet that the treatment clears pollutants from tissue or the whole body.

Why it matters: - Therapeutic apheresis may do more than lower cholesterol. The study suggests the procedure can also reduce circulating PFAS and microplastics in people. - If confirmed, the finding could point to a new way to measure and possibly reduce some of the body’s environmental pollutant burden. - The work matters because PFAS and microplastics are already widely detected in human blood and tissue, and long-term health effects remain a concern.

What happened: - Researchers at Technische Universität Dresden analyzed blood and discard material from patients undergoing therapeutic apheresis. - The center performs up to 10,000 apheresis treatments a year and is described as the world’s largest program of its kind. - The findings were reported Aug. 4, 2026 in the journal Brain Health. - The study examined whether the treatment removed not just lipoproteins and inflammatory markers, but also PFAS and plastic particles.

The details: - In 34 people sampled before and after two double-filtration plasmapheresis sessions, C-reactive protein and fibrinogen fell significantly, with P values at or below 0.0001. - LDL cholesterol and lipoprotein(a) also fell after each session. - In plasma from 14 patients, an outside laboratory found reductions of up to 25% in perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, perfluorononanoic acid, and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid. - In four people tested after a single session, another laboratory measured average drops of 48.9% for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, 43.5% for perfluorooctanoic acid, 55.0% for perfluorononanoic acid, 75.8% for perfluorododecanoic acid, and 47.1% for perfluorodecanoic acid. - The PFAS compounds were also found in the eluate, the fraction discarded by the machine. - Pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in blood from four patients showed polyethylene falling in all four and polyvinyl chloride in three of four. - Polypropylene fell in one patient, rose in two, and was undetectable in the fourth. - Polystyrene rose in one patient, while polyamide 66 fell. - Two patients treated with double filtration plasmapheresis plus NucleoCapture had all detectable polystyrene and polypropylene removed in one case, and polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate removed in the other. - Nile Red staining with flow cytometry found an average 70% reduction in nanoparticle counts across four patients, but the result was not statistically significant and did not prove the particles were plastic. - Raman spectroscopy on human eyelid skin detected and mapped polystyrene particles inside tissue. - In NCI-H295R adrenal cells exposed to 30-nanometer polystyrene beads, serum drawn after apheresis showed a downward trend in lactate dehydrogenase release, a marker linked to cell damage. - The article includes a DOI link: the study.

Between the lines: - The study is a signal, not a proof. The authors say sample sizes were small, the apheresis systems and patient indications varied, and the plastic assays are exploratory. - The field still lacks validated standard methods for measuring plastic in blood, and contamination during sampling remains a major risk. - The findings support a hypothesis that PFAS and microplastics may ride on lipoproteins or other blood components, which apheresis can remove. - The results do not show that the treatment clears pollutants stored in tissue or lowers total body burden over time. - The authors also note that repeated sessions could be partly offset by movement of pollutants from tissue reservoirs back into circulation. - Therapeutic apheresis is generally considered safe in experienced centers, with common side effects including hypotension, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, and citrate-related symptoms. - The systems studied here avoid donor plasma replacement, which can matter because replacement fluid may carry environmental contaminants. - The research fits a broader policy push. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health has launched STOMP, a $144 million program focused on measuring and removing micro- and nanoplastics from the body.

What's next: - The Dresden team says the next step is animal studies using micro- and nanoplastics labeled with radiotracers or iron, followed by PET and MRI imaging before and after apheresis. - Researchers want to test whether the treatment can reach plastic deposits in tissue, possibly through exosomes or other transport pathways. - Larger, controlled studies will be needed before the findings can be turned into a treatment strategy. - The authors say preventing exposure remains the first priority, because cleanup after the fact is harder and more expensive.

The bottom line: - Therapeutic apheresis may be an unexpected tool for lowering some circulating PFAS and microplastic measures, but the evidence is early and the bigger question is whether the treatment changes what is stored in the body, not just what is floating in blood.