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endocrine disruptor
Friday 3 October 2014
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In 1991, a group of 21 scientists gathered at the Wingspread Conference Center to discuss evidence of developmental alterations observed in wildlife populations after chemical exposures.
There, the term "endocrine disruptor" was agreed upon to describe a class of chemicals including those that act as agonists and antagonists of the estrogen receptors (ERs), androgen receptor, thyroid hormone receptor, and others.
This definition has since evolved, and the field has grown to encompass hundreds of chemicals. Despite significant advances in the study of endocrine disruptors, several controversies have sprung up and continue, including the debate over the existence of nonmonotonic dose response curves, the mechanisms of low-dose effects, and the importance of considering critical periods of exposure in experimental design.
One chemical found ubiquitously in our environment, bisphenol-A (BPA), has received a tremendous amount of attention from research scientists, government panels, and the popular press.
Open references
Bisphenol-A and the great divide: a review of controversies in the field of endocrine disruption. Vandenberg LN, Maffini MV, Sonnenschein C, Rubin BS, Soto AM. Endocr Rev. 2009 Feb;30(1):75-95. doi : 10.1210/er.2008-0021 PMID: 19074586 [Free]