Effects of Exposure to Environmental Chemicals During Pregnancy on the Development of the Male and Female Reproductive Axes (original) (raw)
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Endocrine disruptors (ED) and human exposure
2009
Increasing cases of malfunctions in the reproductive system, such as spermatic decrease in count and functionality, early puberty in boys and girls, increase of breast, prostate and testicle cancer and malformations associated with hormonal problems raise a sort of generalized concern. Simultaneously, cases of alterations in the reproductive function of an increasing amount of animal species can be observed. These are due to the exposure to persistent chemical substances such as pesticides, detergents, dioxins and furans. As a response, in the last decades an intense research activity has been promoted in order to describe these compounds according to their capacity to alter the endocrine-reproductive system homeostasis, naming them endocrine disruptors. Among the recognized disruptor compounds, the following can be listed: phytoestrogens, organochlorinated pesticides, alkyl-phenol polyethoxylates, polychlorinated biphenyls, chlorophenols, phthalates, artificial estrogens, dioxins, furans and some aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons; that is to say, compounds that can be found in everyday life. The concern lies in that they can be found in the environment at very low levels and have been proved to have harmful effects on fauna species as well as on laboratory animals at these low levels. The greatest difficulty to determine the effects on human beings is that they are exposed to several ED simultaneously. The main exposure risk lies on the early prenatal and postnatal development, when the organs and the nervous system are transforming and the increasing incidence of neurodegenerative diseases of unknown etiology could be explained by environmental factors of substances which can be promoters, such as some pesticides. This work tries developing better global data, especially in countries outside North America and Europe, on status and trends of environmental contamination, exposure, and health outcomes.
Pure and applied …, 2003
This paper will review briefly the use of wildlife as models in the study of how mixtures, low doses, and the embryonic environment modulate the action of endocrine active substances (EASs). In so doing, it will show how the issue of low dosages must be considered within the context of mixtures present in the environment and the endocrine background of the exposed individual.That is, in nature, EASs usually are found in mixtures in which the constituent parts are in concentrations well below their NOAEL (no observed adverse effect level) as determined in single compound studies in the laboratory.In addition, exposure always occurs on organisms in various endocrine states. Thus, the issue of mixtures and dosages must always be considered within the context of the endocrine background. Finally, the effects of exposure are passed down through the generations. The question of exposure then at the level of the individual becomes very complicated, as it must take into account that at every life stage, the naturally occurring endocrine milieu of the organism (or tissue), any EAS burden inherited from the mother or built up over the individual’s life, and the social environment in which the individual develops and interacts as an adult, will influence the response to acute exposure.
Endocrinology, 2012
An endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) is an exogenous chemical, or mixture of chemicals, that can interfere with any aspect of hormone action. The potential for deleterious effects of EDC must be considered relative to the regulation of hormone synthesis, secretion, and actions and the variability in regulation of these events across the life cycle. The developmental age at which EDC exposures occur is a critical consideration in understanding their effects. Because endocrine systems exhibit tissue-, cell-, and receptor-specific actions during the life cycle, EDC can produce complex, mosaic effects. This complexity causes difficulty when a static approach to toxicity through endocrine mechanisms driven by rigid guidelines is used to identify EDC and manage risk to human and wildlife populations. We propose that principles taken from fundamental endocrinology be employed to identify EDC and manage their risk to exposed populations. We emphasize the importance of developmental stage and, in particular, the realization that exposure to a presumptive "safe" dose of chemical may impact a life stage when there is normally no endogenous hormone exposure, thereby underscoring the potential for very low-dose EDC exposures to have potent and irreversible effects. Finally, with regard to the current program designed to detect putative EDC, namely, the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program, we offer recommendations for strengthening this program through the incorporation of basic endocrine principles to promote further understanding of complex EDC effects, especially due to developmental exposures. (Endocrinology 153: 4097-4110, 2012)
Environmental Endocrine-Disrupting Chemical Exposure: Role in Non-Communicable Diseases
Frontiers in Public Health
The exponential growth of pollutant discharges into the environment due to increasing industrial and agricultural activities is a rising threat for human health and a biggest concern for environmental health globally. Several synthetic chemicals, categorized as potential environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), are evident to affect the health of not only livestock and wildlife but also humankind. In recent years, human exposure to environmental EDCs has received increased awareness due to their association with altered human health as documented by several epidemiological and experimental studies. EDCs are associated with deleterious effects on male and female reproductive health; causes diabetes, obesity, metabolic disorders, thyroid homeostasis and increase the risk of hormone-sensitive cancers. Sewage effluents are a major source of several EDCs, which eventually reach large water bodies and potentially contaminate the drinking water supply. Similarly, water storage material such as different types of plastics also leaches out EDCs in drinking Water. Domestic wastewater containing pharmaceutical ingredients, metals, pesticides and personal care product additives also influences endocrine activity. These EDCs act via various receptors through a variety of known and unknown mechanisms including epigenetic modification. They differ from classic toxins in several ways such as low-dose effect, non-monotonic dose and trans-generational effects. This review aims to highlight the hidden burden of EDCs on human health and discusses the non-classical toxic properties of EDCs in an attempt to understand the magnitude of the exposome on human health. Present data on the environmental EDCs advocate that there may be associations between human exposure to EDCs and several undesirable health outcomes that warrants further human bio-monitoring of EDCs.
Endocrine Reviews, 2015
This Executive Summary to the Endocrine Society's second Scientific Statement on environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) provides a synthesis of the key points of the complete statement. The full Scientific Statement represents a comprehensive review of the literature on seven topics for which there is strong mechanistic, experimental, animal, and epidemiological evidence for endocrine disruption, namely: obesity and diabetes, female reproduction, male reproduction, hormone-sensitive cancers in females, prostate cancer, thyroid, and neurodevelopment and neuroendocrine systems. EDCs such as bisphenol A, phthalates, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diethyl ethers, and dioxins were emphasized because these chemicals had the greatest depth and breadth of available information. The Statement also included thorough coverage of studies of developmental exposures to EDCs, especially in the fetus and infant, because t...
Environmental Health Perspectives, 1996
The hypothesis has been put forward that humans and wildlife species have suffered adverse health effects after exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Reported adverse effects include declines in populations, increases in cancers, and reduced reproductive function. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sponsored a workshop in April 1995 to bring together interested parties in an effort to identify research gaps related to this hypothesis and to establish priorities for future research activities. Approximately 90 invited participants were organized into work groups developed around the principal reported health effects-carcinogenesis, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, and immunotoxicity-as well as along the risk assessment paradigm-hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization. Attention focused on both ecological and human health effects. In general, the group felt that the hypothesis warranted a concerted research effort to evaluate its validity and that research should focus primarily on effects on development of reproductive capability, on improved exposure assessment, and on the effects of mixtures. This report summarizes the discussions of the work groups and details the recommendations for additional research.