Toxic Plastics: Bisphenol A Linked To Metabolic Syndrome In Human Tissue

September 5, 2008

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904151629.htm

ScienceDaily (Sep. 5, 2008) - New research from the University of Cincinnati

(UC) implicates the primary chemical used to produce hard plastics-bisphenol

A (BPA)-as a risk factor for metabolic syndrome and its consequences.

In a laboratory study, using fresh human fat tissues, the UC team found that

BPA suppresses a key hormone, adiponectin, which is responsible for

regulating insulin sensitivity in the body and puts people at a

substantially higher risk for metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a combination of risk factors that include lower

responsiveness to insulin and higher blood levels of sugar and lipids.

According to the American Heart Association, about 25 percent of Americans

have metabolic syndrome. Left untreated, the disorder can lead to

life-threatening health problems such as coronary artery disease, stroke and

type 2 diabetes.

Nira Ben-, PhD, and her team are the first to report scientific

evidence on the health effects of BPA at environmentally relevant doses

equal to " average " human exposure. Previous studies have primarily focused

on animal studies and high doses of BPA.

They report their findings in the Aug. 14, 2008, online edition of the

journal Environmental Health Perspectives. This scientific data comes just

before a key Federal Drug Administration meeting about the safety of the

chemical in consumer products scheduled for Sept. 16, 2008.

" People have serious concerns about the potential health effects of BPA. As

the scientific evidence continues to mount against the chemical, it should

be given serious attention to minimize future harm, " says Ben-, a

professor of cancer and cell biology at UC who has studied BPA for more than

10 years.

" Experimenting with human tissue is the closest we can come to testing the

effects of BPA in humans. It's a very exciting breakthrough because

epidemiological studies looking at BPA effects on humans are difficult since

most people have already been exposed to it, " she adds.

Scientists estimate that over 80 percent of people tested have measurable

BPA in their bloodstream. The UC study was designed to mimic a realistic

human exposure (between 0.1 and 10 nanomolar) so that a more direct

correlation between human exposure and health effects could be drawn.

To conduct this study, the UC team collected fresh fat tissue from

Cincinnati patients undergoing several types of breast or abdominal surgery.

These samples included three types of fat tissue: breast, subcutaneous and

visceral (around the organs).

Tissue was immediately taken to the laboratory and incubated with different

concentrations of BPA or estrogen for six hours to observe how the varied

amounts of BPA affected adiponectin levels. The effects of BPA were then

compared to those of estradiol, a natural form of human estrogen.

They found that exposing human tissues to BPA levels within the range of

common human exposure resulted in suppression of a hormone that protects

people from metabolic syndrome.

" These results are especially powerful because we didn't use a single

patient, a single tissue source or a single occurrence, " she adds. " We used

different fat tissues from multiple patients and got the same negative

response to BPA. "

UC's Hugo, PhD, Terry Brandebourg, PhD, Woo, PhD, J. Wesley

, MD, and Christ Hospital surgeon Loftus, MD, participated in

this study. The study was funded by grants from the National Institute of

Environmental Health Sciences.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adapted from materials provided by University of Cincinnati.

September 6, 2008

The FDA at work.

Ann

chemical bisphenol A is safe, FDA says

By SUSANNE RUST

srust@...: Aug. 15, 2008

The document comes on the heels of several conflicting reports by national and

international agencies released this year on the safety of the chemical,

bisphenol A.

It was immediately embraced by industry scientists, who commended the federal

agency’s “thorough analysis,” and condemned by environmental groups that

questioned the timing of the report’s release and its reliance on industry

funded studies.

Hundreds of studies conducted by government and independent academic have shown

that bisphenol A causes breast cancer, testicular cancer, diabetes and

hyperactivity in laboratory animals. It has been found in the urine of 93% of

Americans tested.

The chemical was developed in 1891 as a synthetic estrogen but came into

widespread use in the 1950s when scientists realized it could be used to make

polycarbonate plastic and some epoxy resins to line food and beverage cans.

More than 6 billion pounds of bisphenol A are produced annually in the United

States for use in an array of products, including dental sealants, baby bottles

and compact discs.

In this latest draft report, FDA scientists concluded the chemical was safe for

infant, child and adult consumption at current levels and that “in the minds of

competent scientists . . . the substance is not harmful under the intended

conditions of use in food contact applications.”

Steve Hentges, spokesman for the industry’s American Chemistry Council, said the

conclusions confirm “that food contact products made from polycarbonate plastic,

including products for infants and children, can continue to be used safely.”

Sharp, a senior scientist for the nonprofit Environmental Working Group,

criticized the report for being released just days before the California

legislature is set to vote on a ban of bisphenol A from children’s products.

“Is the timing coincidental?” she said. “I have a hard time believing that.”

It also comes before the final release of the National Toxicology Program’s

report on bisphenol A. The program advises the FDA on scientific issues such as

the health concerns and risks of chemicals.

In a draft report released this spring, the National Toxicology Program found

the chemical caused some concern for the developing brain of fetuses, infants

and children. In April, Environment Canada declared it toxic, and the agency has

announced its intention to ban the chemical.

Along with California, New Jersey and nearly a dozen other states also are

considering bills to restrict use of bisphenol A.

However, the European Union and the European Food Safety Authority, which both

recently reviewed the research on bisphenol A, have deemed the chemical safe.

Pete Myers, chief scientist of the nonprofit group Environmental Health

Sciences, noted the draft’s heavy reliance on two industry-funded studies that

found the chemical poses no harm.

“You think the FDA would have learned not to rely so heavily on industry-funded

research after the Vioxx episode,” he said, referring to an FDA gaffe over the

prescription arthritis medicine in 2004.

A Journal Sentinel investigation last year found that when the National

Toxicology Program investigated the safety of bisphenol A, the program relied on

industry funded studies, none of which found that the chemical caused harm. The

newspaper reviewed more than 250 scientific studies conducted by independent and

government scientists that showed the chemical, even in very small doses, posed

harm to laboratory animals.

The FDA’s scientific advisory board will hold a public meeting on Sept. 16 to

review the safety of bisphenol A in food contact applications.

Also, this is an important site

http://www.ehponline.org

Ann

From: stardora@... <stardora@...>

Subject: Toxic Plastics: Bisphenol A Linked To Metabolic Syndrome In

Human Tissue

To:

Cc: " AAR " <AntiAgingResearch >, Longevity

Date: Friday, September 5, 2008, 8:17 PM

Toxic Plastics: Bisphenol A Linked To Metabolic Syndrome In Human Tissue

http://www.scienced aily.com/ releases/ 2008/09/08090415 1629.htm

ScienceDaily (Sep. 5, 2008) - New research from the University of Cincinnati

(UC) implicates the primary chemical used to produce hard plastics-bisphenol

A (BPA)-as a risk factor for metabolic syndrome and its consequences.

In a laboratory study, using fresh human fat tissues, the UC team found that

BPA suppresses a key hormone, adiponectin, which is responsible for

regulating insulin sensitivity in the body and puts people at a

substantially higher risk for metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a combination of risk factors that include lower

responsiveness to insulin and higher blood levels of sugar and lipids.

According to the American Heart Association, about 25 percent of Americans

have metabolic syndrome. Left untreated, the disorder can lead to

life-threatening health problems such as coronary artery disease, stroke and

type 2 diabetes.

Nira Ben-, PhD, and her team are the first to report scientific

evidence on the health effects of BPA at environmentally relevant doses

equal to " average " human exposure. Previous studies have primarily focused

on animal studies and high doses of BPA.

They report their findings in the Aug. 14, 2008, online edition of the

journal Environmental Health Perspectives. This scientific data comes just

before a key Federal Drug Administration meeting about the safety of the

chemical in consumer products scheduled for Sept. 16, 2008.

" People have serious concerns about the potential health effects of BPA. As

the scientific evidence continues to mount against the chemical, it should

be given serious attention to minimize future harm, " says Ben-, a

professor of cancer and cell biology at UC who has studied BPA for more than

10 years.

" Experimenting with human tissue is the closest we can come to testing the

effects of BPA in humans. It's a very exciting breakthrough because

epidemiological studies looking at BPA effects on humans are difficult since

most people have already been exposed to it, " she adds.

Scientists estimate that over 80 percent of people tested have measurable

BPA in their bloodstream. The UC study was designed to mimic a realistic

human exposure (between 0.1 and 10 nanomolar) so that a more direct

correlation between human exposure and health effects could be drawn.

To conduct this study, the UC team collected fresh fat tissue from

Cincinnati patients undergoing several types of breast or abdominal surgery.

These samples included three types of fat tissue: breast, subcutaneous and

visceral (around the organs).

Tissue was immediately taken to the laboratory and incubated with different

concentrations of BPA or estrogen for six hours to observe how the varied

amounts of BPA affected adiponectin levels. The effects of BPA were then

compared to those of estradiol, a natural form of human estrogen.

They found that exposing human tissues to BPA levels within the range of

common human exposure resulted in suppression of a hormone that protects

people from metabolic syndrome.

" These results are especially powerful because we didn't use a single

patient, a single tissue source or a single occurrence, " she adds. " We used

different fat tissues from multiple patients and got the same negative

response to BPA. "

UC's Hugo, PhD, Terry Brandebourg, PhD, Woo, PhD, J. Wesley

, MD, and Christ Hospital surgeon Loftus, MD, participated in

this study. The study was funded by grants from the National Institute of

Environmental Health Sciences.

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

Adapted from materials provided by University of Cincinnati.

September 6, 2008

Thanks, I went to a couple of the sites you listed and got on their email list.

I will have a lot of reading material I suppose, ha ha. Have a great day.

We need 8 hugs a day to be healthy.

Toxic Plastics: Bisphenol A Linked To Metabolic Syndrome In