Originally published June 8 2005
Chemical may inhibit male sex development
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Phthalate, a man-made ingredient in many plastics, cosmetics and consumer products, may cause smaller penis size and incomplete testicular descent. Shanna Swan, a professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, headed a study on 85 infant boys that measured the phthalate content in their mother's urine during pregnancy. Experiments on rats have also show chemical interferences with testosterone during gestation. The study does not show that boys were harmed by levels of phthalate, but the correlation between the chemical and the anogentital index (the distance between the genitals and the anus) could open the door for more research into internal malformations.
A manmade ingredient of many plastics, cosmetics and other consumer products may be interfering with prenatal male sexual development, new research suggests.
A study of 85 infant boys found a correlation between increased exposure to some forms of the chemical phthalate and smaller penis size and incomplete testicular descent.
"This is clearly something that needs to be examined in a larger sample," said Shanna Swan, a professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry who headed the study.
A paper describing the research will appear in a future issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, a journal of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences.
Rats with the syndrome suffer from genital birth defects, infertility and testicular cancer.
The last few decades have seen a rise in the types of birth defects that would be expected from prenatal testosterone interference, including hypospadia, a defect in which the urethra does not extend to the tip of the penis, and undescended testicles.
Testicular cancer has increased as well, although it is a different type than rats experience in phthalate syndrome.
"The results are both groundbreaking and potentially troubling," said Russ Hauser, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health who was not involved in the research.
The researchers found a correlation between exposure to some forms of phthalate and a measurement called the anogenital index _ the distance between the genitals and the anus.
A growing body of research suggests that some chemicals used in consumer products may cause public health problems by interfering with sex hormones.
A study in the current issue of the journal Endocrinology exposed newborn mice to bisphenol-A, a chemical found in plastics and dental sealants, at doses comparable to those found in the human environment.
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