Exposure to BPA during pregnancy may cause health problems for offspring

Bisphenol A -- BPA -- used in plastic packaging and in the linings of food and beverage cans, may be passed from a mother to her offspring during pregnancy and cause changes in the gut bacteria of the offspring, according to an international team of researchers.
In a study on rabbits, the researchers observed that exposure to BPA during pregnancy caused chronic inflammation in the offspring's intestines and liver. The researchers also noted signs of increased gut permeability -- or leaky gut -- and a decrease in the diversity of gut bacteria and anti-inflammatory bacterial metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids, said Jairam K.P. Vanamala, associate professor of food sciences, Penn State.
Leaky gut and decreased gut-bacteria diversity and metabolites are considered biomarkers -- or indicators -- of inflammation-related chronic diseases, he added.
"Obesity and inflammation-promoted chronic diseases like colon cancer and type 2 diabetes are increasing not just in America, but worldwide," said Vanamala. "We know that many types of cancers are inflammation-promoted, like colon cancer. But, we have not understood what causes inflammation in the intestine and liver. We have previously shown that food is a double-edge sword. Some foods can promote inflammation in the intestine, whereas bright-colored fruits and vegetables, like purple potatoes, can suppress intestinal inflammation. This study shows that we also need to think about the toxins in the environment."

Researchers see popular herbicide (Atrazine) affecting health across generations

 First, the good news. Washington State University researchers have found that a rat exposed to a popular herbicide while in the womb developed no diseases and showed no apparent health effects aside from lower weight.
Now, the weird news. The grand-offspring of that rat did have more disease, as did a great-grand offspring third generation.

"The third generation had multiple diseases and much more frequently than the third generation of unexposed rats," said Michael Skinner, a Washington State University professor of biological sciences. At work, says Skinner, are epigenetic inheritance changes that turn genes on and off, often because of environmental influences.Writing this week in the journal PLOS ONE, Skinner reports exposing pregnant rats to atrazine, a commonly used herbicide on corn crops across the Midwest. Manufactured by Syngenta, the hormone-disrupting compound has been banned in Europe, where it was found contaminating water, while the Environmental Protection Agency permits its use in the U.S. It has been found in water systems serving 30 million Americans in 28 states, according to an Environmental Working Group survey of municipal water records.After Skinner and his colleagues exposed pregnant female rats to the herbicide, their first generation of offspring showed no ill effects but weighed less than rats in a control group. Rats bred from them had increased testis disease and altered sperm production, mammary tumors in both males and females, early-onset puberty in the males and lower-weight females. Their offspring—the great-grand offspring of the exposed rats—also had more testis disease, plus early onset puberty in females, hyperactivity and leaner male and female physiques.

When Skinner and his colleagues looked at sperm of the offspring, they found epimutations, or alterations in the methyl groups that stick to DNA and affect its activation.

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Related articles

• Burden of disease and costs of exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in the European Union: an updated analysis. - PubMed - NCBI

Seattle-caught Salmon Found to Contain Drugs - Mad In America

 "From My Science Academy: In a recent study, up to 81 drugs and personal care products were detected in the flesh of salmon caught in Puget Sound. Some of the drugs and contaminates found include Paxil, Valium, Zoloft, Prozac, OxyContin and cocaine.

“Intriguingly, the researchers are not concerned about the effect the cocktail of drugs will have on the humans who eat the fish, but they are concerned about how the chemicals are affecting wildlife. Reportedly, Meador’s other recent work has shown that juvenile chinook salmon migrate through contaminated estuaries in Puget Sound and die at twice the rate of fish elsewhere.

That seems like cause for concern.Unfortunately, it not likely the contamination will let up. According to one study, 97,000 pounds of drugs and chemicals could be entering the Puget Sound each year.”"



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Childhood obesity, rapid growth linked to pregnant moms eating lots of fish

"Women who ate fish more than three times per week when they were pregnant gave birth to children with higher BMI values at 2, 4 and 6 years of age compared with women who ate fish less. High maternal fish intake during pregnancy also was associated with an increased risk of rapid growth from birth to 2 years and with an increased risk of overweight/obesity for children at ages 4 and 6 years compared with maternal fish intake while pregnant of once a week or less, the results indicate. The magnitude of the effect of fish intake was greater in girls than boys.
"Contamination by environmental pollutants in fish could provide an explanation for the observed association between high fish intake in pregnancy and increased childhood adiposity," the authors write. However, the authors note that while they collected information on the consumption of different fish types, they did not have enough data to distinguish between species, cooking procedures and the water source of the fish from rivers or the sea."



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Toxins found in fracking fluids and wastewater, study shows -- ScienceDaily

"In an analysis of more than 1,000 chemicals in fluids used in and created by hydraulic fracturing (fracking), researchers found that many of the substances have been linked to reproductive and developmental health problems, and the majority had undetermined toxicity due to insufficient information."
157 of them -- chemicals such as arsenic, benzene, cadmium, lead, formaldehyde, chlorine, and mercury -- were associated with either developmental or reproductive toxicity. Of these, 67 chemicals were of particular concern because they had an existing federal health-based standard or guideline, said the scientists, adding that data on whether levels of chemicals exceeded the guidelines were too limited to assess.



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What causes autism? Environmental risks are hard to identify.

Experts can rattle off autism-linked genes, but other risks are very hard to pin down. 

A nice review of some of the environmental factors , and the problems associated with measurement and replication.

International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics opinion on reproductive health impacts of exposure to toxic environmental chemicals - International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics

"Exposure to toxic environmental chemicals during pregnancy and breastfeeding is ubiquitous and is a threat to healthy human reproduction. There are tens of thousands of chemicals in global commerce, and even small exposures to toxic chemicals during pregnancy can trigger adverse health consequences. Exposure to toxic environmental chemicals and related health outcomes are inequitably distributed within and between countries; universally, the consequences of exposure are disproportionately borne by people with low incomes. Discrimination, other social factors, economic factors, and occupation impact risk of exposure and harm. Documented links between prenatal exposure to environmental chemicals and adverse health outcomes span the life course and include impacts on fertility and pregnancy, neurodevelopment, and cancer. The global health and economic burden related to toxic environmental chemicals is in excess of millions of deaths and billions of dollars every year. On the basis of accumulating robust evidence of exposures and adverse health impacts related to toxic environmental chemicals, the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) joins other leading reproductive health professional societies in calling for timely action to prevent harm. FIGO recommends that reproductive and other health professionals advocate for policies to prevent exposure to toxic environmental chemicals, work to ensure a healthy food system for all, make environmental health part of health care, and champion environmental justice."



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Environmental factors may contribute to autism development and male bias: Effects of fragrances on developing neurons.

BACKGROUND:

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are developmental
conditions characterized by deficits in social interaction, impairments in
verbal and nonverbal communication, and stereotyped patterns of behavior.
Previous studies have implicated environmental factors in the development of
ASD. Although no reliable neurophysiological network is associated with ASD,
low levels of plasma oxytocin (OXY) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) have been
reported. The "twin" nonapeptides OXY and AVP are mainly produced in
the brain of mammals, and dysregulation of these neuropeptides has been
associated with changes in behavior, especially social interactions.

METHODS:

Previously, we analyzed 91 commonly used fragrances and
reported significant mutagenic, neurocytotoxic, and stimulatory effects on
fetal neuroblastoma cell lines (NBC). In this study, we analyzed the
neuromodifications of three selected fragrances on male and female human fetal
brain neurons, utilizing immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS:

We show that exposure to femtomolar concentrations of
fragrances results in morphological changes by light microscopy in the NBC.
Importantly, these fragrances significantly reduced the OXY- and AVP-receptor positive (OXYR+ and AVPR+) neurons in male NBC but not in female NBC, possibly contributing to the development of male bias in ASD.

CONCLUSION:

This study is the first to show a potential link between fragrance exposure, depletion of OXYR+ and AVPR+ neurons, and a male bias in autism.

Humans may be harmed by endocrine disrupting chemicals released during natural gas mining

"More than 15 million Americans live within one mile of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) operations that combine directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" to release natural gas from underground rock. Scientific studies still are inconclusive on the potential long-term effects on human development. Now, Susan C. Nagel and Christopher D. Kassotis, researchers with the University of Missouri, and national colleagues have conducted a review of research on health effects associated with UOG operations and concluded these activities have potential for environmental release of a complex mixture of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that could potentially harm human development and reproduction."



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Environmental exposure to hormones used in animal agriculture greater than expected -- ScienceDaily

Research by an Indiana University environmental scientist and colleagues
at universities in Iowa and Washington finds that potentially harmful
growth-promoting hormones used in beef production are expected to
persist in the environment at higher concentrations and for longer
durations than previously thought.
The study focuses on the environmental fate of trenbolone acetate, or TBA, a highly potent synthetic analogue of testosterone, used to promote weight gain in beef cattle. A majority of beef cattle produced in the U.S. are treated with TBA or one of five other growth hormones approved for use in animal agriculture.
The compound and its byproducts are examples of contaminants of emerging concern called endocrine disruptors. In the environment they are capable of interfering with reproductive processes and behaviors in fish and other aquatic life.

Lead in kids’ blood linked with behavioral and emotional problems

Emotional and behavioral problems show up even with low exposure to
lead, and as blood lead levels increase in children, so do the
problems, according to research funded by the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes
of Health. The results were published online June 30 in the journal
JAMA Pediatrics.

“This research focused on lower blood lead levels than

most other studies and adds more evidence that there is no safe lead
level,” explained NIEHS Health Scientist Administrator Kimberly Gray,
Ph.D. “It is important to continue to study lead exposure in children
around the world, and to fully understand short-term and long-term
behavioral changes across developmental milestones. It is
well-documented that lead exposure lowers the IQ of children.” 

Blood lead concentrations measured in more than 1,300
preschool children in China were associated with increased risk of
behavioral and emotional problems, such as being anxious, depressed, or
aggressive. The average blood lead level in the children was 6.4
micrograms per deciliter.

Here's the paper:-

Blood Lead Concentrations and Children’s Behavioral and Emotional ProblemsA Cohort Study

Lead in ancient Rome’s city waters

Thirty years ago, Jerome Nriagu argued in a milestone paper that Roman civilization collapsed as a result of lead poisoning. Clair Patterson, the scientist who convinced governments to ban lead from gasoline, enthusiastically endorsed this idea, which nevertheless triggered a volley of publications aimed at refuting it. Although today lead is no longer seen as the prime culprit of Rome’s demise, its status in the system of water distribution by lead pipes (fistulæ) still stands as a major public health issue. By measuring Pb isotope compositions of sediments from the Tiber River and the Trajanic Harbor, the present work shows that “tap water” from ancient Rome had 100 times more lead than local spring waters.

BBC News - Health atlas allows online search of risk by area

A new online map of England and Wales allows people to enter their postcode and find their
community's risk of developing 14 conditions, such as heart disease and
lung cancer. The map presents population-wide health information for England and Wales.

The researchers at Imperial College London pointed out that it could not be used to see an individual's risk.
It indicated an area's health risk, relative to the average for England and Wales, they stressed.

Dissolved organic carbon thresholds affect mercury bioaccumulation in Arctic lakes.

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is known to affect the Hg cycle in
aquatic environments due to its overriding influence on complexation,
photochemical, and microbial processes, but its role as a mediating
factor in the bioaccumulation of Hg in aquatic biota has remained
enigmatic. Here we examined 26 tundra lakes in Canada's western Arctic
that span a large gradient of DOC concentrations to show that total Hg
(HgT) and methyl mercury (MeHg) accumulation by aquatic invertebrates is
defined by a threshold response to Hg-DOC binding. Our results showed
that DOC promotes HgT and MeHg bioaccumulation in tundra lakes having
low DOC (<8.6 - 8.8 mg C L1; DOC threshold concentration, TC)
whereas DOC inhibits HgT and MeHg bioaccumulation in lakes having high
DOC (>DOC TC), consistent with bioaccumulation results in a companion
paper (this issue) using a microbial bioreporter. Chemical equilibrium
modeling showed that Hg bioaccumulation factors were elevated when Hg
was associated mainly to fulvic acids, but became dramatically reduced
when DOC was > 8.5 mg C L-1, at which point Hg was associated
primarily with strong binding sites on larger, less bioaccessible humic
acids. This study demonstrates that the biological uptake of Hg in lakes
is determined by binding thresholds on DOC, a water quality variable
predicted to change markedly with future environmental change.

Early Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease pathology in urban children: Friend versus Foe responses--it is time to face the evidence.

 Chronic exposure to particulate matter air pollution is known to cause inflammation leading to respiratory- and cardiovascular-related sickness and death. Mexico City Metropolitan Area children exhibit an early brain imbalance in genes involved in oxidative stress, inflammation, and innate and adaptive immune responses. Early dysregulated neuroinflammation, brain microvascular damage, production of potent vasoconstrictors, and perturbations in the integrity of the neurovascular unit likely contribute to progressive neurodegenerative processes. The accumulation of misfolded proteins coincides with the anatomical distribution observed in the early stages of both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. We contend misfolding of hyperphosphorylated tau (HPπ), alpha-synuclein, and beta-amyloid could represent a compensatory early protective response to the sustained systemic and brain inflammation. However, we favor the view that the chronic systemic and brain dysregulated inflammation and the diffuse vascular damage contribute to the establishment of neurodegenerative processes with childhood clinical manifestations. Friend turns Foe early; therefore, implementation of neuroprotective measures to ameliorate or stop the inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes is warranted in exposed children. Epidemiological, cognitive, structural, and functional neuroimaging and mechanistic studies into the association between air pollution exposures and the development of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in children are of pressing importance for public health.

Argentines link health problems to agrochemicals

American biotechnology has turned Argentina into the world's third-largest soybean producer, but the chemicals powering the boom aren't confined to soy and cotton and corn fields.
The Associated Press documented dozens of cases around the country where poisons are applied in ways unanticipated by regulatory science or specifically banned by existing law. The spray drifts into schools and homes and settles over water sources; farmworkers mix poisons with no protective gear; villagers store water in pesticide containers that should have been destroyed.
Now doctors are warning that uncontrolled pesticide applications could be the cause of growing health problems among the 12 million people who live in the South American nation's vast farm belt.
In Santa Fe, cancer rates are two times to four times higher than the national average. In Chaco, birth defects quadrupled in the decade after biotechnology dramatically expanded farming in Argentina.
"The change in how agriculture is produced has brought, frankly, a change in the profile of diseases," says Dr. Medardo Avila Vazquez, a pediatrician and neonatologist who co-founded Doctors of Fumigated Towns, part of a growing movement demanding enforcement of agricultural safety rules. "We've gone from a pretty healthy population to one with a high rate of cancer, birth defects, and illnesses seldom seen before."

Chemicals pollutants threaten health in the Arctic

This image shows the Arctic as observed by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite on September 16, 2007. The image shows a record sea ice minimum in the Arctic. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"People living in Arctic areas can be more sensitive to pollutants due to their genetics, says researcher Arja Rautio at the Centre for Arctic Medicine in theUniversity of Oulu, Finland. This is unfortunate since the northernmost areas of Europe are receiving more harmful chemicals. Scientists believe climate change may be a culprit as air and water mass movements push some of these undesirable chemicals towards the Arctic. "In real life, people are exposed to lots of chemicals," says Rautio, who leads studies into the human health effects from contaminants and the influence of climate change in a EU-funded project called ArcRisk, "and I think the people of the north are exposed to higher levels than for example the general population in Europe.""

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Tough talk over mercury treaty : Nature News & Comment

Governments are on the verge of agreeing the first legally binding, global treaty to tackle mercury pollution. It aims to clean up the legacy of centuries of untrammelled emissions of the toxic metal, and to limit future contamination from sources as diverse as coal-fired power plants and gold mining.

Chemical soup clouds connection between toxins and poor health : Nature News & Comment

From plastics to flame retardants, the ubiquitous chemicals of our daily lives have raised public health concerns like never before. Inside the Beltway, however, data-crunching scientists are often no match for industry lobbyists and corporate lawyers. The exception, no doubt, is Linda Birnbaum, the toxicologist who leads, two little-known scientific agencies, the National Institute of Environmental Health Services (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program .

Toxicology: The learning curve : Nature News & Comment: Toxic effects of low doses

Endocrine disrupters include a large group of synthetic chemicals that interact with cellular hormone receptors. These compounds, which range from the common weed killer atrazine and the plasticizer bisphenol A (BPA) to the antibacterial agent triclosan (used in cleansers) and the vineyard fungicide vinclozolin, don't play by the usual rules of toxicology. On the basis of conventional high-dose testing, regulators have set maximum acceptable levels for each of them that assume all doses below that level are safe. But academic researchers who have studied a wider range of doses, including very low ones found in the everyday environment, say that their experiments usually do not generate the tidy, familiar 'ski-slope' dose-response graphs of classic toxicology. Instead, most endocrine disrupters have 'non-monotonic' dose-response curves, meaning that their slopes change at least once from negative to positive, or vice versa, forming 'U' shapes, inverted 'U's or even stranger shapes that resemble undulating Chinese dragons. 

Related articles

• 'Firemaster 550' A Flame Retardant Identified As An Endocrine Disruptor (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Research: Roundup Herbicide Toxicity Vastly Underestimated (activistpost.com)