Human teratogenic agents

Human teratogenic agents have been discovered initially from anecdotal observations and then more rigorously examined in epidemiological studies and confirmed with animal studies, or they have initially been identified in animal studies with subsequent confirmation by human data. Animal model researchers have suggested that any agent positive in two or more mammalian species must be considered a suspect human teratogen. 

Teratology is the study of chemical-induced birth defects. The work of the regulatory teratologist is to identify teratogenic agents before they can harm the human population. 

While the literature abounds with reports of the undesirable reproductive consequences of DDT exposure at all levels of animal systems, little human research in this area has made its way into the open literature. Shepard s Catalog of Teratogenic Agents (ref. 86) and Nisbet-Karch (ref. 47) each list only the work of O Leary et al. (ref. 87), correlating spontaneous abortion in human females with human pesticide residues, and prematurity of human fetuses with DDE levels found in fetal whole blood. Perhaps the more serious risk with DDT and DDE is the significant presence of these two along with other... 

Sciences Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction Documents Shepard s Catalog of Teratogenic Agents Teratogen Information System Breeding Studies... 

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