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Current query:Type: Scientific Studies
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Boys exposed to phthalates during pregnancy are less likely to choose “boy typical” toys such as trucks, suggesting that phthalates can alter brain development and gender-specific behaviors.
This is the first study to suggest a link between prenatal phthalate exposure and male behavior. The results indicate that phthalates can interfere with testosterone during development leading to a less masculinized brain. 16 November 2009. More...
New experiments with combinations of contaminants shows that mixtures can cause harm even when the level of each chemical in the mixture would cause no effect by itself.
Because people are exposed to hundreds of chemicals at a time--or more--these results indicate that setting safety standards based on the action of individual chemicals will not be sufficient to protect human health. 1 September 2009. More...
The common and highly-used herbicide atrazine can act within the brain to disrupt the cascade of hormone signals needed to initiate ovulation, finds a new study.
The results shed new light on the way atrazine affects the female reproductive system and the persistence of these effects when adults are exposed. 20 August 2009. More...
Scientists report that a number of Roundup formulations tested at very dilute concentrations can alter hormone actions and cause human liver cells to die within 24 hours of treatment.
The key factor affecting how dangerous the different formulations were lay in their "inert ingredients" ... chemicals usually protected by trade secrets clauses. 18 August 2009. More...
Sperm counts are lower in mice whose mothers were exposed during pregnancy to a mixture of particles found in diesel exhaust.
The results add to a small but growing series of studies that suggest exposure to diesel exhaust can disrupt the proper development of the testis in rats and mice and perhaps affect reproduction. 14 August 2009. More...
Fish produced fewer – or no eggs at all – after only one to two weeks of exposure to either of two different types of synthetic progestin hormones found in women's birth control and menopausal drugs.
The more potent of the pair of progestins also lowered sperm production and affected behavior in male fish. Effects occurred at levels found in the environment in sewage effluents. 30 July 2009. More...
Women who are having difficulty conceiving may want to cut back on their soy consumption after a mouse study reveals that dietary exposure to genistein, a compound found in soy foods, can reduce the odds of a successful pregnancy in multiple ways.
The results reveal how natural compounds like genistein may have both risks – it can act as an endocrine disurptor to affect female reproduction – and benefits - such as protecting the heart. 28 July 2009. More...
The herbicide atrazine lowers the production of androgen hormones in male rats by altering the genes responsible for making them.
This is the first study to show that atrazine directly affects the genes responsible for hormone production in testicular cells. 27 July 2009. More...
Male rats reach puberty later and have skewed hormone levels after exposure to high concentrations of DEHP, a phthalate.
The researchers tested a wide range of DEHP levels in two different strains of rats and compared when the animals from the differen test groups hit puberty. The doses used – 10, 100, 300 and 900 milligrams per kilogram of rat body weight – are much higher than levels measured in people. 21 July 2009. More...
Women in menopause are more prone to the BPA-associated health effects of inflammation and oxidative stress than either men or women who are still menstruating, according to a study of Korean adults.
This is the first time BPA has been linked to these conditions in people and suggests older women may be more susceptible to the chemical's estrogen-like manner that drives these particular types of cell damage. Oxidative stress can be involved with aging, cancer and other disease states. 13 July 2009. More...
Researchers have isolated a new estrogen-like compound in soy called glycinol. The authors report that glycinol appears to be as potent as other, similar compounds found in the legume and its many food products, such as tofu and soy milk.
Glycinol is a more effective estrogen mimic than other, more well known isoflavones commonly found in soy foods, including the widely studied isoflavones genistein and daidzein. 15 June 2009. More...
Some horse estrogens used in hormone replacement therapies make their way from people to wastewater and into fish where they may contribute to the feminization of the animals, reports a study from England.
Laboratory tests showed the hormones – one of which was more potent than human varieties – can turn on estrogen hormone systems in fish at very low concentrations. This is the first time scientists report that HRT-related horse estrogens in water coming into and leaving sewage treatment plants are estrogenic in fish. 9 June 2009. More...
Bacteria in sewage can chemically transform estrogenic compounds, converting them to back to their original chemical form as the sewage travels toward treatment plants after the compounds have been excreted by people.
The findings open the door to exploring new ways in which the estrogens that are more resistant to bacterial modification could be changed at the sewage treatment plant to make them easier to remove from the water. 5 June 2009. More...
A five-generation rat study provides the clearest evidence to date that exposure to low levels of environmental estrogens can increase the risk of abnormal cell growth in the male breast.
Abnormalities which could have the potential to become cancerous developed in the mammary gland tissue of male rats that were exposed to either the soy-based phytoestrogen genistein or ethinyl estradiol -- an estrogen used in birth control pills. 27 May 2009. More...
Researchers report a higher risk of genital anomalies in boys exposed before birth to polybrominated biphenyl flame retardants.
Although no longer used, the effects of exposure to PBBs are of concern due to their similarity to currently used flame retardants, their long half-life and their ability to cross the placenta. The children of mothers who had the highest exposures also had a greater risk for urinary tract or genital problems. 15 May 2009. More...
A new study reveals that by interfering with thyroid hormone, exposure to low levels of bisphenol A (BPA) slows the rate at which tadpoles develop into frogs.
Thyroid signals are necessary both for normal frog metamorphosis and for fetal development in people. In these experiments, exposure to levels similar to those found in human infants prevented key genes from turning on, thus delaying tadpole development. 12 May 2009. More...
A British study shows that wastewater released from sewage treatment plants has a bigger impact than prior research suggests on egg production – and the long-term reproductive health – of fish living in the treated water.
This study was unique in that it looked at real effluents with their mixtures of different types and amounts of hormones. The authors showed that common methods used to assess the level of hormonal disruption may underestimate true reproductive impairment caused by estrogenic compounds. 1 May 2009. More...
Female rats exposed to estrogenic compounds through their mothers while in the womb had greater reactions to pain as adults, according to a study by Italian researchers.
The increased pain sensitivity may be due to permanent changes in how the nerves developed in the rats that were exposed before birth to either ethynylestradiol, the most commonly used synthetic estrogen in birth control pills, or methoxychlor, a common insecticide long known to have estrogenic activity in mammals. 16 April 2009. More...
A study with mice finds that diet can modify the harmful effects of bisphenol A. The findings shed light on perceived inconsistencies in BPA research results.
Differences in diet dramatically altered the risk that mouse oocytes would develop errors in how chromosomes are aligned during cell division after exposure to BPA. When these errors occur in people, they can cause spontaneous miscarriage and severe disabilities. 9 April 2009. More...
Testosterone levels were significantly lower in men who lived in homes with high concentrations of flame retardants in house dust than those in homes with low levels of the chemicals in the dust.
The study of 24 adult men is the first to compare PBDE levels in dust with hormone levels in adult men. 1 April 2009. More...
For the first time, scientists find that extremely low levels of some types of environmental estrogens disrupt specialized brain cells and their ability to regulate brain chemistry. All of the EEs tested changed the way cells released and reabsorbed dopamine, an important chemical messenger that governs movement and pleasure.
These changes may explain how EEs contribute to nervous system diseases, such as Parkinsons and schizophrenia, that are caused by abnormal dopamine responses. 3 March 2009. More...
Research using a powerful statistical model suggests that chemical mixes in wastewater feminize male fish.
Scientists in the United Kingdom report that more than one type of hormonally active chemical -- not just those that act like estrogen -- play a role in sex reversal of male fish. Anti-androgens also contribute. 2 March 2009. More...
A PCB mix altered reproductive hormones and organ growth in two generations of female rats that were never directly exposed to the chemicals themselves.
The abnormalities worsened in the granddaughters when compared to the daughters. The worst effects were seen at the mid -- not the highest or lowest -- level tested. Levels were within the range of human exposure. 27 February 2009. More...
Researchers report that very minute quantities of the hormone found in the birth control pill alter sperm development in rainbow trout by changing the number of chromosomes, which can lead to lower survival and long-term health problems in the offspring.
This error is called aneuploidy. For people, aneuploidy is the biggest known cause of spontaneous miscarriage and the number one cause of congenital birth defects. 17 February 2009. More...
For the first time, scientists have shown that low levels of bisphenol A, even below levels considered safe by the EPA, increase breast cancer risk in rats exposed through their mother’s breast milk.
Adult females developed mammary tumors more rapidly once exposed to a carcinogen if they were exposed to BPA via their mother's breast milk. 16 February 2009. More...
Researchers in Taiwan find that phthalates can pass from pregnant women to their unborn babies and affect reproductive development in their daughters.
The paper reports an association between two types of the ubiquitous chemicals and permanent changes to the newborns' genitals that point to hormonal interference. Overall, the results provide more evidence that human exposure to these endocrine-disrupting chemicals before birth can alter how reproductive systems form. 30 January 2009. More...
Adult men with average amounts of phthalates in their urine had lower levels of two important hormones -- testosterone and estrogen -- in their blood.
This is the first study to show a relationship between phthalate levels and hormone levels in adult men. The phthalate levels "are representative of those found among the general US population," yet more research is needed to determine impacts on the men's health and fertility, say the authors. 27 January 2009. More...
A soy protein, genistein, long known to affect fertility, can change how pregnancies start and progress in female mice treated with it as newborns.
The changes make it harder for fertilized eggs to implant and grow, possibly contributing to infertility. The effects were observed at levels comparable to those experienced by human infants feeding on soy formula. 26 January 2009. More...
Pregnant women exposed to phthalates through hairspray and other sources at work have a greatly increased risk of delivering a son with a common reproductive birth defect known as hypospadias. Taking folate supplements might reduce this risk.
The findings from this British study of almost 1,000 infant boys highlights a new and compelling consequence of phthalate exposure and warrants increased caution in the workplace for pregnant women exposed to these chemicals. Phthalates are chemicals used in a wide variety of products including plastics, detergents and personal care products. 19 January 2009. More...
Using a mathematical model based on enzymatic differences between newborns and adults, scientists estimate that the amount of bisphenol A (BPA) circulating in the blood of babies is more than 11 times higher than the amount in adult blood, given the same exposure.
The striking disparity is most likely due to natural differences in metabolism and body size between babies and adults. This study points to the need for chemical exposure standards to better incorporate differences in vulnerabilities between children and adults. 12 January 2009. More...
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