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BPA exposure affects fertility in next three generations of mice
● Medicalxpress.com
Selon une étude parue dans la revue ‘Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology’,
l’exposition de souris gestantes à des niveaux de bisphénol A équivalents à ceux
considérés comme sûrs chez l'humain entraîne chez leurs descendantes des problèmes
de reproduction sur trois générations, y compris une baisse de la fécondité, un
allongement de la maturité sexuelle et une diminution des taux de gravidité.
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BPA can disrupt sexual function in turtles, could be a warning for
environmental health
● Munews.missouri.
edu
Des chercheurs ont déterminé que l’exposition à des niveaux environnementaux de
BPA peut modifier le système reproducteur de la tortue et perturber la
différenciation sexuelle. Les scientifiques sont préoccupés par le fait que les
conclusions pourraient indiquer l’existence d’effets nocifs pour la santé humaine et
l'environnement.
p4-5
Receipts pose risk during pregnancy, study finds
● Vancouversun.com
Une étude menée sur des embryons de poisson par des chercheurs de l’Université de
Calgary montre qu’une exposition à des doses infimes de BPA ou de BPS, stimule la
croissance excessive des cellules neuronales associées à l'hyperactivité.
p6-7
BPA risk to newborns may be smaller than previously believed
● Eurekalert.org
Une étude publiée dans « The journal of pediatrics » a trouvé que les nourrissons
sont toujours exposés au BPA mais qu’ils sont capables de l’éliminer sous forme de
BPA-glucuronide, considéré comme inerte sur le plan biologique.
p8-9
Towards non-toxic healthcare: HCWH Europe reports on alternatives to
phthalates and BPA in medical devices
● Noharm-global.org
HCWH a publié un nouveau rapport sur les alternatives aux phtalates et au bisphénol
A dans les dispositifs médicaux intitulé « Non-toxic Healthcare: Alternatives to
Phthalates and Bisphenol A in Medical Devices ».
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http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-04-bpa-exposure-affects-fertility-mice.html
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BPA exposure affects fertility in next three generations of
mice
BPA exposure during pregnancy was associated with reproductive problems in the next three generations of
mice, researchers report. Credit: Jodi Flaws
When scientists exposed pregnant mice to levels of bisphenol A equivalent to those considered safe in
humans, three generations of female mouse offspring experienced significant reproductive problems,
including declines in fertility, sexual maturity and pregnancy success, the scientists report in the journal
Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology.
Bisphenol A, an industrial chemical, is found in polycarbonate plastics used in food and drink
packaging, and in epoxy resins, which coat the insides of some food containers and plumbing pipes.
Thermal paper receipts and dental sealants also may contain BPA.
A national study found detectable levels of BPA in 93 percent of 2,517 human urine samples tested in
2003-04, suggesting that most of the U.S. populace is regularly exposed to the chemical. BPA also has
been detected in human ovarian follicular fluid, placental tissue and fetal plasma, said University of
Illinois comparative biosciences professor Jodi Flaws, who led the new analysis. According to the
National Institutes of Health, the primary route of human exposure to BPA is diet.
BPA is an endocrine disruptor, which means that it can interfere with the body's normal hormone
signaling. Many studies in animals indicate that BPA exposure can undermine reproductive function,
but no previous studies have looked for its effects in three generations of offspring.
"Our study followed up on a previous study of ours that found that BPA can affect the development of
the ovary and reduce fertility in the pups of pregnant mice exposed to the chemical," Flaws said. "We
found that exposing them to levels of BPA which are below what the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration says is a safe dose causes reproductive problems in these mice."
Compared with controls and depending on the dose, many of the mice in the new study saw reductions
in fertility and in their ability to carry a pregnancy to term. The first generation of pups also
experienced an abnormal estrous cycle and engaged less in typical mating behavior than mice that had
not been exposed in the womb.
The third generation - which was not directly exposed to BPA either as a fetus or as an egg in a fetus in
its mother's womb - experienced later sexual maturity, reduced fertility and lower pregnancy success
than mice whose ancestors were not exposed to BPA. In this generation, the lowest dose of BPA
exposure (given to their great-grandmothers) interfered most with their fertility.
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"In toxicology, a lot of times people think: The higher the dose, the worse it is," Flaws said. "But with
endocrine-disrupting chemicals, it's sometimes the low doses that cause the most profound effects."
Studies in humans suggest BPA also interferes with human fertility and reproductive function, Flaws
said.
"There are a lot of studies out there, and when you look at BPA in women's reproductive health, there
are a lot of consistencies with the animal studies," she said. "Many of the studies in women have been
done by Dr. Russ Hauser at Harvard. He has shown that urinary concentrations of BPA were associated
with reduced fertility and women's ability to get pregnant. So I personally think there is pretty good
evidence that BPA is a reproductive toxicant in mice as well as in humans."
Explore further: BPA exposure during pregnancy linked to mothers' future diabetes risk
More information: The effects of in utero bisphenol A exposure on reproductive capacity in several
generations of mice, www.sciencedirect.com/science/… ii/S0041008X1500085X
Journal reference: Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
Provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2015/0415-bpa-can-disrupt-sexual-function-in-turtles-could-be-awarning-for-environmental-health/
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BPA Can Disrupt Sexual Function in Turtles, Could be a Warning for
Environmental Health
Understanding the effect on turtles could help researchers determine human implications
April 15, 2015
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical that is used in a variety of consumer products,
such as food storage products and resins that line plastic food and beverage containers. Often, aquatic
environments such as rivers and streams become reservoirs for BPA, and fish and turtle habitats are
affected. Now, a collaboration of researchers from the University of Missouri, Westminster College,
the U.S. Geological Survey and the Saint Louis Zoo
have determined that BPA—which mimics estrogen—
can alter a turtle’s reproductive system and disrupts
sexual differentiation. Scientists are concerned findings
could indicate harmful effects on environmental and
human health.
―Normally, the painted turtle’s sex is determined by the
temperature of the environment during their
development in the egg—cooler temperatures yield
Credit: Roger Meissen, Bond Life Sciences Center
more male turtles, while warmer temperatures mean
females are more likely to develop,‖ said Dawn Holliday, adjunct assistant professor of pathology and
anatomical sciences in the MU School of Medicine and assistant professor of biology at Westminster
College in Fulton, Mo. ―However, when turtle eggs are exposed to environmental estrogens, their sex is
no longer determined by the temperature, but rather by the chemical to which they’re exposed.‖
Researchers applied a liquid form of BPA on hundreds of painted turtle eggs that were then exposed to
cooler temperatures, comparable to those needed to produce male turtles. Then, the scientists examined
the turtles’ sex organs to determine the effects of BPA on their development. They found that the male
turtles had developed sex organs with features typically found in females.
―We already know the genetic marker where the temperature-dependent sex determination occurs,
which provides us a good indication of where the endocrine disruption is taking place,‖ said Sharon
Deem, director of the Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine and a lead investigator on
the study. ―Our findings show that BPA essentially overrides the temperature in determining the sex of
the turtle, creating turtles that are probably unable to reproduce.‖
For the study, scientists mimicked the levels of BPA found in samples from waterways. Turtles are
known as an ―indicator species‖ because they can be used as a gauge for the health of the entire
ecosystem. By understanding the possible effects chemicals have on turtles, researchers might be able
to understand the possible effects the chemicals have on other species, even humans, Holliday said.
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―The doses we tested are environmentally relevant,‖ said
Cheryl Rosenfeld, associate professor of biomedical
sciences in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, a
researcher in the MU Bond Life Sciences Center and a
co-author of the study. ―If BPA has negative impacts on
turtles, then it most likely has implications for human
health as well.‖
Credit: Roger Meissen, Bond Life Sciences Center
The scientists suggest further examination to determine
the underlying mechanisms of sex reversal in reptiles and how these translate to endocrine-disrupting
chemical exposure in wild populations. Fred vom Saal, Curators Professor of Biological Sciences in
the College of Arts and Science at MU, Don Tillitt, an adjunct professor of biological sciences at MU
and a research toxicologist with the USGS, and Ramji Bhandari, an assistant research professor
of biological sciences at MU and a visiting scientist with the USGS, all collaborated on the study.
―Developmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) alters sexual differentiation in painted turtles
(Chrysemys picta),‖ recently was published in the journal, General and Comparative Endocrinology.
Funding was provided by Mizzou Advantage, an MU initiative that fosters interdisciplinary
collaboration among faculty, staff, students and external partners to solve real-world problems in four
areas of strength identified at the University of Missouri. These areas include Food for the Future,
Sustainable Energy, Media for the Future and One Health/One Medicine.
-30Editor’s Note: Watch the story: ―BPA overrides temperature to decide turtle sex.‖
For more on the story: ―Sex mixup: BPA overrides temperature to decide turtle sex.‖
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http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Receipts+pose+risk+during+pregnancy+study+finds/10724754/story.ht
ml
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Receipts pose risk during pregnancy, study finds
Researchers urge expectant mothers to limit exposure to toxins
commonly found in sales slips
By Margaret Munro, Postmedia News April 23, 2015
Pregnant women are being warned to avoid reaching for credit card and cash register receipts as the
ubiquitous bits of paper are increasingly seen as a threat to unborn children.
The receipts can contain the toxin bisphenol A and its chemical cousin, bisphenol S, chemicals that a
new study shows can alter brain development and behaviour in animals exposed to extremely low
doses.
The research published Monday by a team at the University of Calgary was done on zebrafish. But the
findings are so worrying that lead researcher Deborah Kurrasch and her colleagues are calling for
"removal of all bisphenols from consumer merchandise." They also "suggest that pregnant mothers
limit exposure to plastics and receipts," a recommendation that is echoed by other researchers familiar
with the power of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
The greatest risk is in the second trimester when infant brains are rapidly growing and would be most
vulnerable to the ill effects of bisphenol A, or BPA, and Bisphenol S, BPS, which has been widely used
to replace BPA.
The chemicals can have "real and measurable effects on brain development and behaviour," the
researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Their experiments on
embryonic fish found minuscule doses of the chemicals - far below levels deemed safe in Canada stimulate excess growth of neural cells associated with hyperactivity.
BPA is used to harden plastic and is found in plastic containers, the lining of cans and on the thermal
paper that is used to produce everything from credit card receipts to theatre tickets. As concern about
BPA has grown, it is increasingly being replaced by BPS - which the study says is just as bad.
It "equally affects neurodevelopment," says the study, which adds to mounting concerns about the
chemicals that can leach into food and rub off receipts. Health Canada surveys have shown that 95 per
cent of Canadians have trace amounts of BPA in their urine, with the highest levels seen in children.
BPA are endocrine disrupters that have been linked to obesity, cancer and childhood neurological
disorders such as anxiety and hyperactivity. Previous studies suggesting that BPA may affect brain
development prompted Canada and some other countries to ban the chemical's use in baby bottles and
phase out its use in baby food containers.
Kurrasch and her colleagues say regulators need to go much further.
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Their work on embryonic zebrafish found very low doses - "1,000 fold lower than the accepted human
daily exposure" of BPA - lead to overproduction of neural cells in the hypothalamus, a region of the
brain involved in hyperactivity.
"What we show is that BPA affects the timing of when neurons are born, and that presumably alters
circuitry in the brain, so you get this slightly different wiring," Kurrasch said in an interview. She is a
developmental neuroscientist who studies how changes in the brain in early life can impact later life.
The team first exposed the fish to an extremely low dose of BPA. Kurrasch says she didn't expect to see
an effect at such a low dose, but embryos exposed for less than a day hatched into larvae that were
much more active swimmers than normal zebrafish.
"I was very surprised," Kurrasch says.
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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-04/jhub-brt042115.php
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Public Release: 23-Apr-2015
BPA risk to newborns may be smaller than previously
believed
Study of days-old infants shows innate ability to clear controversial compound used in plastics from the
body
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers say that while a large majority of
newborns are exposed in their earliest days to bisphenol A (BPA), a much-studied chemical used in
plastics and in food and soda can linings, they can chemically alter and rid their bodies of it.
The findings, published April 23 in The Journal of Pediatrics, challenge the current thinking on BPA
toxicology. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that more than 92 percent
of Americans ages six and older have BPA in their bodies, most likely through the consumption of food
stored in packaging made from it. No one had studied levels in healthy newborns, but it was assumed
that their immature livers would have a difficult time processing the chemical and that could mean
increased health risks due to BPA.
BPA mimics the sex hormone estrogen in the body and may have developmental effects on the brain,
lung and reproductive organs, and has been associated with diabetes and some cancers. It is currently
used in many plastics in the United States, but was banned in baby bottles and sippy cups in 2012 by
the Food and Drug Administration for fear of what the chemical could do to the very young. But BPA
is still in wide use because the FDA has repeatedly concluded that it is safe at the current levels
occurring in foods.
"Even though we've removed BPA from bottles, this work shows infants are still exposed to it," says
study leader Rebecca Massa Nachman, PhD, MPH, a post-doctoral fellow in the Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health's Department of Environmental Health Sciences. But the good
news is that our study also shows healthy newborns are better able to handle that exposure than we
thought."
For their study, conducted between Dec. 2012 and August 2013, Nachman and her colleagues collected
urine samples from 44 full-term babies, once between three and six days of age and again between
seven and 27 days of age. They were looking for two forms of BPA: free BPA and BPA glucuronide.
Free BPA is the chemical as it appears in consumer products, and BPA glucuronide is what remains
after free BPA is metabolized by the body. The researchers found no free BPA in the urine samples,
while more than 70 percent of the samples contained BPA glucuronide. BPA glucuronide is
biologically inert and therefore considered harmless to the body.
Scientists were concerned that BPA would behave similarly in the body to bilirubin, a biological
byproduct created by the breakdown of red blood cells. Healthy livers turn bilirubin into bilirubin
glucuronide, a very similar process to the one BPA follows, which can then be excreted. Routinely,
babies may have trouble with this process in their earliest days, resulting in jaundice in most newborns.
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Nachman says researchers still don't know how the babies were exposed to BPA. Notably, Nachman's
group found no difference between BPA glucuronide levels in infants who were formula fed and those
who were breastfed. Fifty-one percent of the babies were fed formula exclusively, 28 percent were only
fed breast milk and 21 percent consumed a combination of the two.
Studies have shown that powdered baby formula contains no BPA, while breast milk does. Among
children and adults, food is believed to be the primary source of BPA found in the body, even though it
is also found in cash register receipts, refillable water bottles, the lining of water pipes and even in dust.
Because of its short half-life, BPA found in the urine reflects recent contact with a source of BPA,
making in-utero transmission from mother to baby an unlikely culprit.
"It must come from somewhere outside of the diet," she says.
###
"Urinary Free Bisphenol A and Bisphenol A Glucuronide Concentrations in Neonates in Baltimore,
Maryland" was written by Rebecca M Nachman, PhD, MPH; Stephen D Fox, BS; William C Golden,
MD; Erica Sibinga, MD, MHS; John D Groopman, PhD and Peter S Lees, PhD
This study was supported in part by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future-Lerner Fellowship,
the Wendy Klag Memorial Fund, and by grants from the National Institutes of Health's National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P01 ES006052, P30 ES003819 and training grant T32
ES007141) and the National Cancer Institute (P30 CA006973 and contract N01-CO-12400).
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https://noharm-global.org/articles/press-release/europe/towards-non-toxic-healthcare-hcwh-europe-reportsalternatives
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Towards non-toxic healthcare: HCWH Europe reports on
alternatives to phthalates and BPA in medical devices
Press Release posted on April 28, 2015
Contact: Rosalind Simpson
As WHO/Europe Member States meet to discuss the Parma Declaration on Environment and Health, a
report calling for a phase-out of endocrine disrupting chemicals from medical devices is released by
Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) Europe.
Brussels, 28 April 2015 — Today marks the start of the European Environment and Health Process
Mid-term Review (EHP-MTR) in Haifa, Israel, where WHO/Europe Member States will evaluate
progress and identify the next steps towards meeting the goals of the Parma Declaration on
Environment and Health.[1] HCWH Europe marks this occasion with the release of its new report Nontoxic Healthcare: Alternatives to Phthalates and Bisphenol A in Medical Devices which highlights that
patients are routinely exposed to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) through medical devices.
The report provides evidence of the potential hazards these substances pose to human health and the
environment, presents an analysis of safer alternatives available on the market and calls for a phase out
of phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) in medical devices.
Why is there concern about medical devices?
Medical devices are vital in healthcare but they can contain harmful substances in their composition,
such as phthalates and BPA, that may leach out into the patient’s body. Phthalates are commonly used
as softeners in PVC-based medical devices while BPA is used in a wide variety of plastics with
applications in the medical device industry, such as feeding tubes and IV connectors. The presence of
phthalates and BPA in medical devices is worrying as they are endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
These can interfere with the normal functioning of our hormonal system and harm the body’s
physiological and developmental processes throughout our life. Growing scientific evidence is linking
EDCs exposure to a wide range of abnormalities and illnesses.
Exposure to phthalates has been linked to reduced ano-genital indices, reproductive alterations (low
sperm concentration, endometriosis, hypospadias, shorter pregnancy duration, etc.), changes in
neurobehaviour in neonates, infants and children, cholestasis, dermatitis, heart diseases and
perturbations in inflammatory responses. Regarding BPA, a recent review has identified more than 75
studies where exposure was associated with health effects in humans, including reproductive effects
(erectile dysfunction, miscarriages), and thyroid, immune and metabolic diseases (diabetes).
Of particular concern is the impact of exposure on vulnerable patients, including those who undergo
multiple medical treatments or face chronic exposure over extended periods. The recent opinion on the
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safety of the use of BPA in medical devices by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on
the Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) concluded that risks for adverse effects
of BPA may exist, especially for neonates in intensive care units, infants undergoing prolonged medical
procedures and dialysis patients, and that the possibility of replacing BPA in these products should be
considered, against their efficiency in the treatment and the toxicological profile of the alternative
materials.
The unborn, neonates and children are of special concern as these groups are being exposed to
hazardous chemicals at a highly vulnerable moment (window of vulnerability), when various aspects of
their development can be altered, potentially with lifelong consequences.
Why release this report?
HCWH Europe’s report supports the precautionary principle and approach that substitution is the best
course of action when there is concern about the safety of chemicals contained in consumer products. .
This report is a plea for policymakers and governing bodies to demand the phase-out of hazardous
chemicals from medical devices and the adoption of a new regulation on medical devices that
eliminates phthalates and BPA from healthcare. A new EC regulation proposal on medical devices is
currently being debated by Member States. This is a vital opportunity to protect the environment and
human health from the risks of exposure to hazardous chemicals. The risks to our health are simply too
great to ignore.
―Better alternatives are available for almost all products used in daily healthcare. It is then a matter of
choice: do we choose better alternatives or do we choose to ignore the mounting evidence of potential
danger to the patients we are trying to treat?‖ states Dr Gavin W. ten Tusscher, paediatrician at the
Westfriesgathuis Hospital in the Netherlands.
―The healthcare sector has a duty to protect patients, including vulnerable groups, from exposure to
potentially harmful substances. Healthcare must not only cure illness, but it must also prevent it. That
means using safer alternatives to phthalates and BPA to reduce exposure and potential illnesses in the
long term,‖ adds Grazia Cioci, Policy Director at HCWH Europe. ―This could be facilitated and
incentivised by ambitious European legislation that requires the phase out of EDCs contained in
medical devices when safer alternatives exist, with the aim to guarantee non-toxic healthcare for
patients, staff and the environment.‖
Read: Non-toxic Healthcare: Alternatives to Phthalates and Bisphenol A in Medical Devices
[1] The Parma Declaration includes the EHP’s first-ever time-bound goals on the environment and
health. Among the goals of the Parma declaration is tackling concerns raised by persistent, endocrinedisrupting and bio-accumulating harmful chemicals and nano-particles; and by novel and emerging
issues. This was ratified by Member States in 2010 at the Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment
and Health in Parma, ltaly.
PRESS CONTACT
Rosalind Simpson
Communication and Press Officer, Health Care Without Harm Europe
[email protected]
+32 483 716 786
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