Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have developed a novel treatment for periodontitis that selectively targets harmful bacteria while preserving beneficial microbes essential for oral health. Unlike existing treatments such as antibiotics and antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT), this method maintains the balance of the entire oral microbial ecosystem.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and plastic particles may not drift through the bloodstream alone. The working hypothesis is that they bind lipids and proteins, forming aggregates that persist for years. A team at Technische Universität Dresden asked whether therapeutic apheresis, an extracorporeal therapy developed to strip lipoproteins from patients with severe dyslipidemia, also removes such contaminants. In small exploratory cohorts, PFAS and micro- and nanoplastic levels decreased in patient blood after double filtration plasmapheresis, with PFAS detectable in the discarded eluate. Raman spectroscopy located plastic particles inside human skin. Responses varied across individuals and analytes, and the mechanism remains unknown.