DPeP PVC autism: A little known 'super-phthalate' packs a big punch to males

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* A little known 'super-phthalate' packs a big punch to males, a

rat study finds. <http://bit.ly/hdn6Pm>

* 17 February 2011

New research in rats finds that a relatively unknown phthalate

called DPeP may be up to eight times more potent than DEHP -- the

phthalate generally considered to be the most dangerous variety.

Prebirth exposure to DPeP interfered with testosterone production

and reproductive development in male offspring at levels lower

than required by other phthalates.... Phthalates are a family of

chemicals that are present throughout the modern environment.

Certain phthalates, including DPeP (dipentyl phthalate), are added

to plastics -- especially polyvinyl chloride -- to make them soft

and flexible, while other phthalates hold scent and color.

*

more... <http://bit.ly/hdn6Pm>

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Associations between indoor environmental factors and parental-reported

autistic spectrum disorders in children 6-8 years of age.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19822263>

Larsson M, Weiss B, Janson S, Sundell J, Bornehag CG.

Neurotoxicology. 2009 Sep;30(5):822-31.

Potential contributions of environmental chemicals and conditions to the

etiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders are the subject of considerable

current research and speculation. The present paper describes the

results of a study undertaken as part of a larger project devoted to the

connection between properties of the indoor environment and asthma and

allergy in young Swedish children. The larger project, The Dampness in

Buildings and Health (DBH) Study, began in the year 2000 with a

questionnaire distributed to parents of all children 1-6 years of age in

one Swedish county (DBH-I). A second, follow-up questionnaire (DBH-III)

was distributed in 2005. The original survey collected information about

the child, the family situation, practices such as smoking, allergic

symptoms, type of residence, moisture-related problems, and type of

flooring material, which included polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The 2005

survey, based on the same children, now 6-8 years of age, also asked if,

during the intervening period, the child had been diagnosed with Autism,

Asperger's syndrome, or Tourette's syndrome. From a total of 4779

eligible children, 72 (60 boys, 12 girls) were identified with

parentally reported autism spectrum disorder. A random sample of 10 such

families confirmed that the diagnoses had been made by medical

professionals, in accordance with the Swedish system for monitoring

children's health. */An analysis of the associations between indoor

environmental variables in 2000 as well as other background factors and

the ASD diagnosis indicated five statistically significant variables:

(1) maternal smoking; (2) male sex; (3) economic problems in the family;

(4) condensation on windows, a proxy for low ventilation rate in the

home; (5) PVC flooring, especially in the parents' bedroom/*. In

addition, airway symptoms of wheezing and physician-diagnosed asthma in

the baseline investigation (2000) were associated with ASD 5 years

later. Results from the second phase of the DBH-study (DBH-II) indicate

PVC flooring to be one important source of airborne phthalates indoors,

and that asthma and allergy prevalence are associated with phthalate

concentrations in settled dust in the children's bedroom. Because these

associations are among the few linking ASD with environmental variables,

they warrant further and more extensive exploration.