Women warned not to wear perfume during pregnancy - hypospadias etc

[Guest guest]

The article calls attention to important points: What types of

maldevelopment can occur before a woman knows she's pregant? What types

can occur in response to seemingly " small " exposures? Especially if

co-factors are present, such as suboptimal nutritional status and/or

weak alleles in detox pathways?

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Women warned not to wear perfume during pregnancy

31 August 2008

By Kate

http://news.scotsman.com/health/Women-warned--not-to.4443471.jp

PREGNANT women have been advised to avoid using perfumes or scented body

creams after research suggested the products can cause unborn boys to

suffer infertility or cancer in later life.

Research on rats carried out by Professor Sharpe has found that

the reproductive system of male foetuses can be damaged as early as at

eight weeks' gestation by chemicals including those found in many cosmetics.

The damage can result in infertility or testicular cancer -- both

growing medical problems across the world -- said Sharpe, principal

investigator at the Medical Research Council's Human Sciences Unit.

Sharpe, who will unveil his findings at a major conference on fertility

in Edinburgh this week, has discovered a " time window " at 8 to 12 weeks'

gestation -- before some women even know they are pregnant -- during

which certain hormones in the foetus are activated and the male

reproductive system is established.

Sharpe has found that future problems with male fertility including

undescended testicles, low sperm count and the risk of testicular cancer

could be determined at this time if these hormones, such as

testosterone, do not work properly.

Experiments on rats have confirmed that if the hormones are blocked the

animals suffered fertility problems.

Sharpe told Scotland on Sunday: " We have found the male programming

window, which occurs far earlier in foetal development than was

previously thought, before the reproductive organs fully develop. This

is when the androgens such as testosterone in the foetus are at their

most active.

" If the male foetus does not receive enough androgens it may not realise

its full reproductive potential, including the size of the penis and

testes, undescended testes or the sperm count. The chances are,

something will be wrong with the reproductive system. It may be one

thing or several things.

" Women could stop using body creams and perfumes. Although we do not

have conclusive evidence that they do harm, there are components about

which there are question marks; for example it could be certain

combinations of chemicals. If you are thinking about how a baby might be

exposed, that's one way, and it's something positive you can do. It

might have no consequence, but it's something positive women can do for

their baby. "

Sharpe will reveal his findings this week at the Simpson Symposium in

Edinburgh, a gathering of fertility experts organised by Edinburgh

University.

Up to 8% of boys are thought to be born with undescended testicles,

which is the most common birth defect in boys and is linked to

infertility. The condition is also a risk factor for developing

testicular cancer later in life.

Sperm quality and number have declined in the last 30 years. About one

in seven couples in the UK will have difficulty conceiving at some time.

About one third of cases are due to problems in the man.

Testicular cancer is also increasing worldwide by between 1% and 6% a

year. The annual number of new cases of testicular cancer in the UK grew

from 850 in 1975 to 1,889 in 2004.

However, campaigners urged women not to panic over the suggestion until

further studies are conducted.

Seenan, spokeswoman for the charity Infertility Network UK,

said: " A lot of women will not even know they are pregnant at this

stage, or how far along they are. I would be very concerned about

alarming women until these tests have been done on humans. We welcome

any new research in infertility but we would like to see a lot more

research in this area before the findings on animals can be said for

humans. "

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