Chemical May Inhibit Male Sex Development

[struggle4progress]

<snip> A study of 85 infant boys found a correlation between increased exposure to some forms of the chemical phthalate and smaller penis size and incomplete testicular descent. <snip>

A paper describing the research will appear in a future issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, a journal of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences. Swan discussed the findings in an interview Thursday.

Previous experiments in rats indicate that the chemical interferes with testosterone during gestation, producing a condition known as "phthalate syndrome." Rats with the syndrome suffer from genital birth defects, infertility and testicular cancer.

The human study raises concerns because the infants did not experience levels even close to the high doses used in rat experiments. The boys' exposures, measured by analyzing their mothers' urine during pregnancy, were no higher than those found among the general population. <snip>

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ats-ap_health14may27,0,4547375.story?coll=ny-leadhealthnews-headlines