Environmental Pollutants and Neurological Disorders
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- This is an observational study: the protocol does not assign a study treatment.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Cerebrovascular Disorders, Brain Tumours, Alzheimer Dementia. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- China
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Environmental Pollutants and Neurological Disorders: Clinical and Mechanistic Study
Overview
Environmental pollutants have emerged as a major global health concern, with growing evidence linking exposure to both traditional contaminants such as heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic) and novel pollutants-including micro- and nanoplastics, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), antibiotics, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals-to adverse neurological outcomes. These pollutants can cross or disrupt the blood-brain barrier, accumulate in neural tissue, and trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, epigenetic modifications, and metabolic reprogramming. Brain tumours and cerebrovascular diseases represent two major categories of neurosurgical disorders with high morbidity and mortality. However, their interaction with environmental pollutant exposure remains poorly understood. Recent studies suggest that pollutant-induced molecular alterations, such as aberrant DNA methylation, lipid metabolism disruption, and neurovascular endothelial dysfunction, may contribute to tumour initiation, malignant progression, aneurysm formation, and stroke occurrence. Given the increasing human exposure to these pollutants and the lack of large-scale clinical data, it is urgent to establish a systematic investigation in neurosurgical patients. This study aims to profile pollutant exposure (heavy metals, PFAS, microplastics, and other novel contaminants) using multi-biospecimen analysis (blood, urine, hair, tumour and peri-tumour tissues), and to explore their mechanistic links to the pathogenesis of brain tumours and cerebrovascular diseases. The findings are expected to provide new evidence for understanding environment-brain interactions and to identify potential biomarkers for disease risk stratification and prevention.
Primary outcome measures
- Overall Survival (OS) [Time frame: Until death or study completion (24 months)]
Secondary outcome measures (2)
- Progression-Free Survival (PFS) [Time frame: Until progression or death or study completion (24 months)]
- modified Rankin Scale (mRS) [Time frame: 90 days after sample collection]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- 18 years of age or older;
- Able to give informed consent to participate in the research.
Exclusion criteria
- Refusal to participate.
- Pregnant or breastfeeding woman.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
Study locations
China · 1 center
- Beijing Tiantan Hospital — Beijing
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07140601 · KY2024-252-02 · 2024ZD0539700