Most bolding, underlining, etc in these reverse-date order article samples is my emphasis, but don’t bet on it. See Medscape note in the turquoise box somewhere below for how to get free access to their articles, which are the majority in this review (many medscape articles are commentable, and readers sometimes exert great impact at the site and on the thinking of physicians & other healthcare professionals who read there.) Reuters & other sources are also used. Items are numbered for convenience of discussion, to refer to without having to remember/type the article name in comments.
[1] Food Additives Causing Harm, Reforms Urgently Needed July 23, 2018
More information is urgently needed on the physiological and cognitive effects of additives in the American food supply, according to a new policy statement issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and published online today in Pediatrics.
The current regulatory framework for protecting the public has "serious flaws" because of "antiquated notions of safety" and is "in serious need of reform," the statement's lead author, Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP, told Medscape Medical News. "These older tests were based on a more simplistic view of human health..."
For example, the process through which additives are designated as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by the US Food and Drug Administration has been overused and is insufficient to protect against conflict of interest, Trasande and colleagues on the AAP Council On Environmental Health write in the policy statement.
"Because of [that] and other key failings within the food safety system, there are substantial gaps in data about potential health effects of food additives," they add in an accompanying technical report.
In fact, many of the chemicals currently in the food supply "have not been tested at all, while others have not been tested for endocrine disruption or their impact on brain development, and their effect on children's health is still unknown," Trasande, an associate professor of pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine in New York, said in a telephone interview.
As a result, data to support the use of these compounds often is either nonexistent or obsolete, and a growing body of evidence suggests that they may have serious health consequences. "Children may be particularly susceptible to the effects of these compounds because they have higher relative exposures compared with adults (because of greater dietary intake per pound), their metabolic (ie, detoxification) systems are still developing, and key organ systems are undergoing substantial changes and maturations that are vulnerable to disruptions," the authors write in the technical report.
Of particular concern are "food contact substances associated with the disruption of the endocrine system in early life, when the developmental programming of organ systems is susceptible to permanent and lifelong disruption," they add.
The technical report lists endocrine disruption, obesogenic activity, immunosuppression, cardiotoxicity, and decreased birth weight as among the most serious effects identified in some widely used classes of additives, which may include chemicals added to wrapping or packaging materials, as well as those added directly to food…
[2] Toxic Oversight — Food & Environment Reporting Network, July 20, 2018
The way the FDA assesses potential toxicity of ingredients and additives in the food supply has long favored industry studies over independent science. Now, a new effort to fix the problem is breaking down.
For years, government regulators and academic researchers have been at an impasse over the safety of bisphenol A, or BPA, a chemical used to make some plastics. Academic researchers have repeatedly found that BPA and other hormone-disrupting chemicals, which can contaminate foods and drinks, may contribute to problems such as early puberty, obesity, diabetes, developmental delays and even cancer.
Yet the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the agency tasked with protecting public health by ensuring the safety of the nation’s food, insists these chemicals are safe at the levels getting into most Americans’ bodies.
Now, the first round of results are out from a six-year study meant to clear up confusion over BPA’s potential health harms, and they appear to at least partially support academic researchers’ longstanding concerns that exposure to even small amounts of the chemical can cause adverse changes within the body. But the FDA has so far remained resolute in its stance that BPA is safe for consumers...
[3] Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Impact on Male Reproductive Health Translational Andrology and Urology 2018;7(3):490-503. June 1, 2018
[4] Endocrine-Disrupting Agents Found in Black Women's [and children’s] Hair Products May 4, 2018
Hair care products commonly used by black women and children in the United States ... contain chemicals associated with endocrine disruption and asthma, researchers report.
[The researchers aimed to determine, for the first time, the concentrations of 66 endocrine-disrupting chemicals (parabens, phthalates, bisphenol A, antimicrobials, alkylphenols, fragrance, cyclosiloxanes, and UV filters) and asthma-associated chemicals (phthalates, bisphenol A, antimicrobials, ethanolamines, fragrances, and glycol ethers) in six types of hair care products commonly used by black women and children. Based on a survey of black women living in New York City in 2004–2005, they identified 18 commonly used hair care products: six hair lotions, four root stimulators, three hair relaxers (including two for children), three anti-frizz agents, one hot-oil treatment, and one leave-in conditioner. Each] contained 6 to 30 endocrine-disrupting or asthma-associated chemicals.
This ... may help explain why black women have higher levels of certain hormone-disturbing chemicals in their bodies, as well as hormone-related biological differences such as earlier puberty, [higher rates of hormone-related uterine fibroids and infertility, and more aggressive forms of breast and uterine cancer, with rates of these cancers increasing,] and higher rates of asthma, say Jessica S. Helm, PhD, from the Silent Spring Institute in Newton, Massachusetts, and colleagues. Their study was published online April 23 in Environment Research.
"In general, many of the chemicals that we detected weren't labeled [which indicates] need for more information about the contribution of consumer products to [chemical] exposure [racial] disparities," according to Helm and her coauthors.
"A precautionary approach would reduce the use of endocrine disrupting chemicals in personal care products and improve labeling so women can select products consistent with their values..."
The research is in line with data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which shows that black women have higher levels of some phthalates (used as a solvent in fragrances) and parabens (used as a preservative) in their bodies than white women.
"Products that we tested frequently contained higher levels ... suggesting that [hair care products] are potentially a source of [higher levels in the bodies of] black women...".
"Diethyl phthalate is frequently a fragrance ingredient, so by looking for products that don't have paraben or fragrance on the label, [consumers] can reduce...exposure to those chemicals." People can also look for ingredients from natural sources...
"And we have our [free] Detox Me app, which contains these and other tips" to lower exposure to potential toxins in personal care and other products...
[5] DES Raises ADHD Risk in Grandchildren May 21, 2018
The grandchildren of women who took the endocrine disrupter diethylstilbestrol (DES) during pregnancy face increased risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to results published online today in JAMA Pediatrics.
From 1938 through 1971, 5 to 10 million women in the United States were prescribed DES during pregnancy. Use began to wane in 1953, after a study found no benefit in preventing certain adverse pregnancy complications. Subsequently, in utero exposure has been linked to vaginal adenocarcinoma and adenosis in some of the "DES daughters," and to hypospadias in grandsons…
For the current study, Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou, ScD, from the Dept of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia Univ Mailman School of Public Health, New York City, and colleagues investigated possible effects of DES exposure in humans on neurodevelopment in the third generation, and specifically, ADHD, using data from one of the few cohorts, the Nurses Health Study II [via questionnaires mailed in 2013 about] DES exposure during in utero development and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis in their children...
... The participants provided information on both their mothers' DES exposure and physician-diagnosed childhood ADHD in their children.
Among 47,540 participants, 861 (1.8%) F0 mothers received DES while pregnant with the F1 participants. Of the 106,198 grandchildren, 5587 (5.3%) were diagnosed with ADHD, and the grandmothers of 137 (2.5%) of them took DES while pregnant.
The analysis showed an increased risk for ADHD among grandchildren of ... DES users…
The researchers caution that "multi-generational neuro-developmental deficits" associated with DES exposure in utero might add to other environmental exposure to endocrine disruptors, such as in pollution. "Because [endocrine-disrupting chemicals] are ubiquitous, the high prevalence of exposure and the possibility of cumulative consequences must be considered..."
Limitations of the study include recall bias from the participants about their mothers' exposures and maternal errors in reporting diagnoses of ADHD.
The multigenerational effects of DES exposure could arise in two ways: direct changes to the DNA sequence and epigenetic changes, which affect chromosome modifications and gene expression but not the DNA base sequence….
[6] Phthalate Exposure in NICUs [neo-natal intensive care units] Tied to Altered Neurobehavioral Performance in Neonates March 14, 2018
[7] Female Babies on Soy Formula Show Estrogenic Effects Reuters via Medscape — March 13, 2018
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Soy formula may have estrogenic effects on female infants, new findings suggest.
“This work broadly supports the [rodent study] hypothesis that compounds with estrogenic activity ... can produce estrogen-like responses in children,” Dr. Margaret Adgent of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in Nashville, Tennessee, told Reuters Health by email. Dr. Adgent worked on the study while at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
Exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) early in life may affect reproductive development, Dr. Adgent and her colleagues note in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, online March 1.
Levels of genistein, a phytoestrogen found in soy protein, in the serum of soy-formula-fed infants, in estrogen equivalents, are similar to levels associated with reproductive problems in rodent studies ... Epidemiologic studies have also linked soy formula use in infants to reproductive health in adulthood….
[8] Environmental Changes Exacerbating Allergy, Asthma February 26, 2018
ORLANDO — Environmental changes occurring around the world and their effects on allergic and respiratory diseases will be in the spotlight at the upcoming joint congress of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and World Allergy Organization (WAO).
"We'll have talks about how pollution causes both airway and systemic inflammation, and how that directly relates to worsening of the diseases that we take care of," said AAAAI President David Peden, MD, from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and the UNC Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma, and Lung Biology in Chapel Hill.
"And we'll be hearing about how elements in the environment can actually cause epigenetic changes..."
During her keynote, Linda Birnbaum, PhD, from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program in Bethesda, Maryland, will talk about the unique interactions between genes and environment that contribute to human health and disease. She will also discuss global increases in noncommunicable diseases attributable to environmental conditions and identify opportunities to improve human health by modifying environmental exposures. Birnbaum's work focuses on the pharmacokinetic behavior of environmental chemicals, mechanisms of actions of toxicants, including endocrine disruption, and the link between real-world exposures and health effects...
[9] 'Serious Health Risks' Associated With Pesticides — Make Sure That 'Apple a Day' Is Washed Commentary — January 22, 2018
Pesticides are a convenient way to get rid of the pests in our homes and gardens and on the farms that grow the food we eat. Yet, the increased use of pesticides has been linked to a number of serious health risks.
Some pesticides are irritating to the skin and eyes. Others, including organo-phosphates, have been linked to nervous system damage and to the development of Parkinson's disease.[1] Pesticide exposure has also been associated with a greater risk for some cancers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.[2]
Some studies have identified pesticides as endocrine disrupters.[3] Certain people may be especially vulnerable to health effects from pesticides, such as kids. Researchers in China have linked pyrethroids with accelerated puberty in boys.[4] ...
Hormone disruption from pesticides may also be one of the factors behind a 50% decline in sperm counts among men in Western countries.[6] Women who are exposed are also more likely to have poor fertility and deliver prematurely in pregnancy.[7] A recent study in Nature[Communications] showed that adverse birth outcomes increased by 5% to 9% in women living in an area where large amounts of pesticides are used.[8]
Concerns over the harmful effects of pesticides have led to recent efforts to ban chlorpyrifos, which studies have linked to developmental delays in children. The American Acadamy of Pediatrics has urged the Environmental Protection Agency to reverse its March 2017 decision to allow the continued use of this substance.
For now, your patients can reduce their exposure by limiting their use of pesticides at home. Also, when eating produce, advise them to remove the outer skin or wash the produce under running water. One study[9] found that using a mix of baking soda and water removes more of the pesticide residues than water alone.
[10] Chemical Exposures May Explain Disparities in Diabetes Risk Dec 1, 2017
The higher rates of diabetes seen in some ethnic groups, such as African American and Latino populations, may be due in part to increased exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) found in everyday items, and left over from former industrial and pesticide use, suggest US researchers.
In a new review, Robert M Sargis, MD, PhD, division of endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism, University of Illinois at Chicago, and colleagues found that chemicals used in household plastics, and in products such as hair sprays and deodorants, not only increase diabetes risk but do so disproportionately in vulnerable populations.
The research was published online November 15 in Diabetes Care.
While it has "long been recognized" that African American, Latino, and other socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals "bear a higher burden of diabetes," the underlying reasons "are not completely understood," say the researchers. “...We provide evidence that higher exposure to diabetogenic pollutants is an important contributor…
...To try to connect the dots between established evidence that diabetes disproportionately affects vulnerable members of society and emerging data that hint at a link between environmental EDC exposure and metabolic dysfunction, the researchers examined the US National Library of Medicine for articles examining the two issues that were published between 1996 and 2016 [, identifying 27 studies on the associations between EDC exposure and diabetes risk...]
... vulnerable populations are more likely to live in neighborhoods with fewer green spaces, greater exposure to industrial air pollution, and reduced access to healthy foods compared with white populations, they note.
...wash fruit and vegetables, trim fat from meat and skin from fish, and replace old fluorescent bulbs and deteriorating building materials to reduce PCB exposure. And in areas where OC pesticides were used, floors should be cleaned regularly and hands should be washed often, especially before eating or preparing food.
To minimize BPA exposure, [avoid] plastic containers with #7 on the bottom and [opt] for glass and porcelain containers instead and [reduce] the handling of thermal paper, such as that used in sales receipts.
... nonplastic alternatives [should] be used for toys, shower curtains, flooring, and medical equipment wherever possible to reduce phthalate exposure…
...plastics labeled #3 to be avoided...
...read the labels of personal-care products to ensure that they are phthalate-free and avoid products containing synthetic fragrances….
[10] Medscape Reader Polls Are You Concerned About Endocrine Disruptors? July 13, 2017 (Results of the poll are displayed, + 25 reader comments). Original introduction:
The new European Commission draft criteria to identify known and presumed endocrine disruptors are being hailed by some experts as a major step in health and environmental protection. However, the Endocrine Society thinks they don't go far enough to safeguard human health.
The commission's criteria state that an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) is any substance or mixture that alters the functions of the endocrine system to cause adverse health effects in an organism, its progeny, or (sub)populations, while a potential EDC has properties that might be expected to lead to endocrine disruption.
Many pesticides and biocides contain high levels of EDCs, but they are also found in common consumer goods, such as plastics, personal care products, food, water, and cleaning solutions.
The commission's draft criteria "fail to identify EDCs that are currently causing human harm and will not secure a high level of health and environmental protection," the Endocrine Society noted in a statement that further urged the European Parliament to improve transparency surrounding the process for implementing the criteria and to engage endocrine scientists in further decision-making steps...
More below the jump…
[11] Events Listing - Endocrine Disruptors — October 16-18, 2017 — Berlin, Germany Chemical Watch Global Risks & Regulation News.
[12] Endocrine Society Queries European Draft Criteria on Disruptors July 10, 2017
Draft criteria for chemicals in pesticides and biocides that affect the hormone systems of animals and humans have been approved by the European Commission (EC) and were published on July 4. While the commission is hailing this as a major step in health and environmental protection, not everyone is so enthusiastic.
The Endocrine Society, the world's largest organization of endocrinologists, believes that the draft criteria do not go far enough to safeguard human health and that there is a lack of clarity over how they will be applied...
[13] Teens Most Susceptible to Endocrine Disruption From Chemicals April 27, 2017
Adolescents aged 12 to 21 years are two to three times more sensitive than the general population to common environmental contaminants that can disrupt thyroid function... [and the] effects of exposure to three common environmental contaminants — perchlorate, thiocyanate, and nitrate — also appear to be different in boys and girls, say Jenica McMullen, New York University School of Medicine, New York, and colleagues in their report published online April 20 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism...
...In adolescents, disruptions of normal thyroid function can profoundly affect every organ system, including cognitive and cardiac function, bone strength, and metabolism. Clinically, this can present as declining growth rates and changes in academic performance, including poor attention, the researchers say.
Perchlorate, which occurs naturally, is used in rocket propellant and explosive manufacture and can migrate into water, milk, and water-rich vegetables such as celery, zucchini, radish, tomato, and green cabbage. Thiocyanate exposure comes primarily from cigarette smoke, although it can also be found in dairy products as well as radishes, kale, and other leafy greens. Nitrate is a preservative commonly used in fertilizer that can also be found in drinking water and vegetables.
"The effects that we're talking about here are not amenable to treatment. Prevention of the exposures is all we can do at this point," explained senior author Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP, associate professor of pediatrics, environmental medicine and population health at New York University School of Medicine, in an interview.
"The good news is that there are safe and simple steps that can be taken to limit exposure...”
[14] Endocrine Disruptors: Should We Be Afraid? Experts Provide Practical Advice to Share With Patients (translated from French) June 14, 2017
[15] Environmental toxicology and chemistry in Latin America: Introduction 2017
In Latin America, since the first analysis conducted by Carriquiriborde and Bainy in 2012 [1], the number of published studies in the environmental science disciplines linked with
environmental toxicology and environmental chemistry has
grown 64% since 2011 (Figure 1). This growth was mainly
driven by Brazilian scientific production, that represented 52%
of the total Latin American published studies, followed by
Mexico (18%) and Argentina (11%). The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) has complemented the expansion of scientific output in Latin America by organizing several activities in the region. Such attention has contributed to the increase of SETAC Latin American membership by 220% from 2011 to 2015, reaching more than 330 members.
In 2015, the 11th Biennial Meeting of the Latin American branch of SETAC was held in Buenos Aires. The meeting brought together 450 participants from 22 countries from within Latin America and other regions of the world (Figure 2). Twenty-seven sections were included in the scientific program, covering aquatic toxicology and ecology, emerging contaminants, endocrine disruption, environmental human health, environmental analytical chemistry, landscape ecotoxicology and management, ecosystem services, life cycles analysis and sustainability, pesticides in the environment, and terrestrial or wildlife toxicology and ecology. As a result, more than 550 works were published...
[16] Reuters via Medscape Even Teethers Labeled BPA-Free May Contain Hormone-Disruptors December 16, 2016
[17] Toxic chemicals tied to $340 billion in U.S. health costs and lost wages - Reuters — October 17, 2016
(Reuters Health) - Chemicals found in plastic bottles, flame retardants, metal food cans, detergents, cosmetics and pesticides cost the U.S. more than $340 billion a year in health costs and lost earnings, a new study estimates.
That’s more than twice the annual estimated cost of $163 billion in the European Union, where regulations may limit exposure to some of these chemicals, researchers note in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.
The chemicals in question are known as endocrine disruptors because they can interfere with the body’s endocrine, or hormone, system and produce negative developmental, reproductive, neurological and immune effects.
[18] Endocrine Disruptors Regulations and Lists in Japan — ChemSafetyPro.com — March 10, 2016
[19] [Contamination, endocrine disruptors and cancer]. [Article in Spanish] — PubMed abstract — March 2016
[20] Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and the diabetes epidemic in countries in the WHO South-East Asia region — Lancet — December 1, 2015
[21] US Endocrine Society Warns Again on Endocrine Disrupters September 30, 2015
Evidence increasingly links endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) to diabetes and obesity, among other conditions, according to the second scientific statement to address this issue from the US Endocrine Society.
The new statement builds on the Endocrine Society's landmark 2009 report, which examined the scientific evidence on EDCs and their impact on humans. It was published online September 28…
...[The new statement corroborates earlier findings, linking endocrine disrupters — in addition to their impact on obesity and diabetes — to effects on male and female reproductive health, hormone-related cancers, prostate conditions, thyroid disorders, and neurodevelopmental issues.]...
...Endocrine disrupters can also alter the way cells grow and develop by mimicking, blocking, or interfering with the body's natural hormones.
Nearly everyone has been exposed to one or more of these chemicals, which include bisphenol A (BPA) found in food-can linings and cash-register receipts, phthalates found in plastics and cosmetics, flame retardants, and pesticides.
Indeed a literature review presented recently at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 2015 Meeting in Stockholm linked exposure to pesticides to a 60% increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
Stronger Evidence in Past 5 Years: Advice for Consumers and Doctors...
[22] Endocrine Disruptors Cause Range of Diseases; €157 Billion Cost March 6, 2015
SAN DIEGO — Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals results in a range of human diseases and abnormalities, costing a total of roughly €157 billion (about $175 billion) annually in the European Union, a new analysis shows.
The findings were presented March 5 at a press briefing here at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting, ENDO 2015, and were also published online in a series of four articles in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
The papers cover overall costs of selected disorders attributed to specific endocrine-disrupting chemicals, as well as more detailed analyses of costs related to endocrine-disrupter–linked obesity and diabetes, neurobehavioral deficits/disease, and male reproductive disorders/diseases.
"Limiting our exposure to the most widely used and potentially hazardous endocrine-disrupting chemicals is likely to produce substantial economic benefit," lead author of the overview study, Leonardo Trasande, MD, from New York University, said at the briefing.
The European Union defines an endocrine-disrupting chemical as an "exogenous substance that causes adverse health effects in an intact organism or its progeny, secondary to changes in endocrine function."
With exposures occurring via pharmaceuticals, industrial solvents, personal-care products, aluminum-can linings, plasticizers, pesticides, and environmental pollutants, chemicals known to be endocrine disrupting include diethylstilbestrol, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) , dioxins, perfluoroalkyl compounds, solvents, phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene organophosphate/organochlorine pesticides, and polybrominated diphenyl.
Affected hormones include estrogen, androgen, thyroid, retinol, aryl hydrocarbon, and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) pathway. In all, 13 chronic conditions have strong scientific evidence for causation by endocrine-disrupting chemicals, Dr Trasande said. ... a complex global, environmental public-health issue…
"There are safe and simple steps that families can take to limit their exposure to endocrine-disruptive chemicals. They can avoid microwaving plastic. They can avoid eating from aluminum cans or drinking fluids from aluminum cans. They can eat organic. Or even simply air out their homes every couple of days to remove some of the chemical dust…that can disrupt hormones in their bodies."
He added, "I recognize that doctors have extremely busy practices and many competing priorities. But in the context of the substantial burden of disease that we've identified and for which endocrine-disrupting chemicals are responsible and the opportunities for prevention that are much easier than perhaps intervening on diet and physical activity, there can be substantial impact..."
[23] Endocrine Disruptor BPA Increases Fetal Oxidative Stress January 20, 2015
In utero exposure to the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) causes oxidative damage that could predispose the fetus to developing metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life, a new study suggests.
The findings were published online January 20, 2015 in Endocrinology by Dr Almundena Veiga-Lopez (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) and colleagues.
Controversy has surrounded the human health effects of BPA, an endocrine-disrupting industrial chemical that is ubiquitous in the environment and in human bodies. BPA is particularly concentrated in plastic products such as Nalgene containers and food can liners, and has been found in a wide array of paper products, including napkins, toilet paper, food wrappers, newspapers, and even cash receipts.
The chemical has been linked with adverse metabolic-health effects, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
The relationship between BPA-induced endocrine disruption and these conditions is thought to occur via oxidative stress, inflammation, and imbalances in free fatty acids...
But these claims are contentious; a newly issued statement from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) this week declared that BPA poses no health risk to consumers of any age, including unborn children, at current levels of exposure….
24] Phthalates Linked to Testosterone Reductions in Both Genders August 19, 2014
Increased urinary levels of endocrine-disrupting phthalates, found in flexible plastic and some personal-care products, are associated with significant declines in testosterone levels not just in men, but in women and children as well, according to research published online August 14 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
...
The findings add to mounting evidence on reproductive risks linked to exposure to the endocrine-disrupting chemicals; however, many questions have remained regarding which chemicals are disruptive and who is most at risk. Dr. Meeker admits that while their findings expand the body of research in this field, the clinical implications remain unclear.
Asked to comment, Andrea C. Gore, PhD, the Gustavus & Louise Pfeiffer Professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Texas at Austin, said this new work "really has taken the research up a step in terms of drawing stronger conclusions." This is primarily because of the study's relatively large sample size and its use of a more accurate methodology…
[25] Industrial Chemicals Alter Placental Thyroid Hormone Activity October 9, 2014
Certain industrial chemicals commonly found in low levels in the environment can infiltrate the placenta during pregnancy and affect thyroid hormone activity in placental tissue, a new study reports.
And since thyroid hormones play a key role in fetal brain development, maternal exposure to these endocrine-disrupting chemicals might affect cognitive development in infants…
...the researchers measured levels of the CYP1A1 enzyme in placental tissue. This enzyme transforms endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other dioxinlike industrial chemicals into a form that can interfere with thyroid hormone receptors.
"It is clear that thyroid hormone action is being derailed by environmental factors," senior author R. Thomas Zoeller, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, told Medscape Medical News. "We know that CYP1A1 is influenced by [dioxinlike] environmental chemicals."
The next step in their ongoing research will be to see whether poorer cognitive development in toddlers correlates with higher CYP1A1 levels in placental tissue…
[26] UN and WHO Issue Joint Report on Endocrine Disruptors Feb 25, 2013
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) found in many common products could have serious health implications for humans and wildlife, according to a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Health Organization.
Åke Bergman, PhD, a professor at Stockholm University in Sweden, and colleagues edited State of the Science of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals—2012, available on the World Health Organization's Web site. It is the most comprehensive such report to date.
"Close to 800 chemicals are known or suspected to be capable of interfering with hormone receptors, hormone synthesis or hormone conversion. However, only a small fraction of these chemicals have been investigated in tests capable of identifying overt endocrine effects in intact organisms," the authors note in the report.
EDCs are found in nature and are produced synthetically, such as bisphenol A. They can be found in products including pesticides, electronics, cosmetics and other personal care products, and food.
The new report examines the potential effects of EDC exposure on pediatric neural development, genital malformations in infant boys, attention deficit/hyperactivity in children, and endocrine-related cancers including prostate, breast, and thyroid, as well as other disorders.
"Chemicals also interfere with metabolism, fat storage, bone development and the immune system, and this suggests that all endocrine systems can and will be affected by EDCs," the authors write….
[27] Another Study Links BPA to Severe Coronary Artery Disease August 20, 2012
(Exeter, United Kingdom) — Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure is higher in patients with severe coronary disease than in patients with no disease in the Metabonomics and Genomics in Coronary Artery Disease (MAGICAD) study [1]. The findings, published online August 15, 2012 in PLOS One, build on previous research suggesting a link between coronary disease and the chemical often found in food-packaging plastic, but the exact mechanism of the association remains uncertain.
Dr David Melzer (Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, Exeter, UK), and colleagues compared urinary BPA (uBPA) levels with the grade of coronary stenosis measured by angiography in 591 patients in the MAGICAD study, which was primarily designed to evaluate the proton-nuclear-magnetic-resonance (1H-NMR)–based metabonomics test for coronary disease.
No disease was found in 120 of the patients, while 86 had intermediate disease, and 385 had severe disease in one to three vessels...
Adjusted for body-mass index, occupational social class, and diabetes status, uBPA concentration was significantly higher in those with severe coronary disease than in patients with no disease...
...
Melzer's group previously reported that
10-year results of the UK EPIC-Norfolk cohort study showed that higher urinary concentrations of BPA metabolites are linked with a higher risk of coronary artery disease, and two analyses from the US
NHANES study found an association between BPA and cardiovascular disease.
The specific mechanism linking BPA and coronary disease in humans remains unclear, but unfortunately, "future scientific work in humans is, of course, constrained by ethical limits and the practicality of repeated BPA exposure measures and long-term follow-up studies..."
[28] UNEP/WHO side event and technical briefing of ICCM3 on endocrine disruptors in Nairobi, 2012 September 2012
[29] Endocrine Disruptive Chemicals: New Guidelines Issued June 29, 2012
In an effort aimed at streamlining the definition of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC) as well as strengthening existing screening programs for such chemicals, the Endocrine Society has published a new set of recommendations.
The recommendations, appearing as a Statement of Principles, were published online June 25 and will appear in the September print issue of Endocrinology.
The publication of the new recommendations follows an earlier Scientific Statement, published 3 years ago, that gave detailed reasons for concern about EDC exposure….
[30] Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Are Indoor Risk August 09, 2010
Concentrations of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) -- found in many everyday products and of concern due to potential health hazards -- are higher indoors than outdoors, according to a new study.
But they are equally present, the researchers found, in an urban, low-income community near an oil refinery and in a rural, affluent coastal community without much industry.
"The higher your exposure to consumer products, the higher your exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals," researcher Ruthann Rudel, director of research at the Silent Spring Institute, Newton, Mass., tells WebMD...
[31] Chemical Communication Threatened by Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Jennifer E. Fox — Environ Health Perspect. 2004;112(6)
Abstract and Chemical Communication via Signaling
Communication on a cellular level�defined as chemical signaling, sensing, and response�is an essential and universal component of all living organisms and the framework that unites all ecosystems. Evolutionarily conserved signaling "webs," existing both within an organism and between organisms, rely on efficient and accurate interpretation of chemical signals by receptors. Therefore, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which have been shown to disrupt hormone signaling in laboratory animals and exposed wildlife, may have broader implications for disrupting signaling webs that have yet to be identified as possible targets. In this article, I explore common evolutionary themes of chemical signaling (e.g., estrogen signaling in vertebrates and phytoestrogen signaling from plants to symbiotic soil bacteria) and show that such signaling systems are targets of disruption by EDCs. Recent evolutionary phylogenetic data have shown that the estrogen receptor (ER) is the ancestral receptor from which all other steroid receptors have evolved. In addition to binding endogenous estrogens, ERs also bind phytoestrogens, an ability shared in common with nodulation D protein (NodD) receptors found in Rhizobium soil bacteria. Recent data have shown that many of the same synthetic and natural environmental chemicals that disrupt endocrine signaling in vertebrates also disrupt phytoestrogen-NodD receptor signaling in soil bacteria, which is necessary for nitrogen-fixing symbiosis. Bacteria-plant symbiosis is an unexpected target of EDCs, and other unexpected nontarget species may also be vulnerable to EDCs found in the environment.
Chemical communication is a common means of endogenous and exogenous signaling for countless species. The endocrine system of vertebrates consists of an intricate web of agonistic as well as antagonistic hormone signals, which control sexual development and reproduction (McLachlan 2001). For example, circulating hormones such as 17β-estradiol (E2) control a variety of cellular processes, including developmental cues, differentiation events, and growth in organs...