Environmental Pollutants and Neurological Disorders

NCT07140601 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: KY2024-252-022024ZD0539700
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 500
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

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.

Conditions

Cerebrovascular Disorders; Brain Tumours; Alzheimer Dementia

Keywords

Environmental Pollutants; Exposomics; Pathogenic Mechanisms; Neurological Disorders; Neurosurgical Patients

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Overall Survival (OS)

  OS is defined as the time from the sample collection date to death due to any cause. All other participants will be censored at the last date known to be alive.

  Until death or study completion (24 months)

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Progression-Free Survival (PFS)

  Until progression or death or study completion (24 months)

• modified Rankin Scale (mRS)

  90 days after sample collection

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with brain tumours or cerebrovascular diseases who need surgical resection.

You may qualify if:

• years of age or older;
• Able to give informed consent to participate in the research.

You may not qualify if:

• Refusal to participate.
• Pregnant or breastfeeding woman.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Beijing Tiantan Hospital: lead
• Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences: collaborator
• Nanjing University: collaborator
• Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences: collaborator
• Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning: collaborator
• Peking Union Medical College: collaborator
• National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Beijing Tiantan Hospital

Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 100070, China

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Cerebrovascular Disorders; Brain Neoplasms; Alzheimer Disease; Nervous System Diseases

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Central Nervous System Neoplasms; Nervous System Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Dementia; Tauopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Neurocognitive Disorders; Mental Disorders

Central Study Contacts

Runting Li, MD

CONTACT

+86 15753166690; tt18080lrt@163.com

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Target Duration: 24 Months
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Prof.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 22, 2025
• First Posted: August 24, 2025
• Study Start: August 1, 2025
• Primary Completion: December 31, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2027
• Last Updated: August 24, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Locations

CN (1)