Diethylstilbestrol endocrine effects

Fig. 14). The DNA-immobilized columns effectively accumulated more DNA-intercalating materials than the planar DNA films. The DNA-immobilized columns bound endocrine disruptors with a planar structure, such as dioxins, and benzo[a]pyrene. Bisphenol A and diethylstilbestrol, which lack a planar structure, did not bind to the DNA-coated columns. Table 1 shows the selective adsorptions of the insoluble DNA-based materials. 

Compounds that are endocrine disrupters include natural animal hormones released into the environment, plant toxins or phytoestrogens, synthetic hormones present in sewage water and used for medical treatment (e.g., diethylstilbestrol), and several chemicals, including some pesticides and polychlorinated biphenols (PCBs). Endocrine disrupters enter the environment often as a by-product of many chemical and manufacturing processes and through waste disposal routes. Some evidence now suggests that effects of thyroid hormones and the immune system occur in addition to the disruptions of hormones that play a major part in the control of reproduction and development. 

Linear causality is not the only problem endocrine disrupters pose for the particle model they also make it difficult to define harm. Some of the correlated effects of endocrine disrupters - such as cancer, delayed brain development and early onset dementia - readily fit into categories of harm. Yet others - such as obesity, the feminization of male foetuses and sexual differentiation - are challenging to categorize. Environmental historian Nancy Langston has undertaken work on diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic endocrine disrupter given to many pregnant women in the 1930s, which has effects similar to many plasticizers. In her study, she cautions that ... 

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