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<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><a href="http://www.endocrinologyadvisor.com/autism-and-endocrine-disrupting-chemicals/article/402259/">http://www.endocrinologyadvisor.com/autism-and-endocrine-disrupting-chemicals/article/402259/</a></span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><o:p> </o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext">March 07, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><font size="6" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:24.0pt;color:windowtext;font-weight:bold">Autistic Features Associated With Prenatal Exposure
to Endocrine Disruptors<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color:windowtext;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext"><img border="0" width="320" height="184" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D05A49.EA62A470" alt="What You Should Know About Iodine Nutrition: 6 Common Patient Misperceptions"></span></font><font color="black"><span lang="EN" style="color:windowtext"><br>
Autistic Features Associated With Prenatal Exposure to Endocrine Disruptors<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><font size="3" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext">SAN DIEGO — Exposure during pregnancy to a combination of fire retardant
chemicals and <a href="http://www.endocrinologyadvisor.com/endocrine-disrupting-chemicals-affect-womens-sexual-interest/article/379286/" target="_blank">
<font color="blue"><span style="color:blue">phthalate</span></font></a> chemicals, which are present in the average home, may contribute to autistic-like behaviors in offspring, according to a Canadian study presented at
<a href="http://www.endocrinologyadvisor.com/endo-2015/section/4820/" target="_blank">
<font color="blue"><span style="color:blue">ENDO 2015</span></font></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><font size="3" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext">The research only involved animal models but it points to potentially
preventable causes of autism. Today, autism remains a diagnosis with enormous social costs and limited solutions. In addition, the rates appear to be steadily rising in North America.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><font size="3" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext">“Our study is the first to evaluate the combined effect of two very
common groups of <a href="http://www.endocrinologyadvisor.com/thyroid-hormone-in-pregnancy-altered-by-endocrine-disrupting-chemicals/article/376139/" target="_blank">
<font color="blue"><span style="color:blue">endocrine disruptors</span></font></a>, at doses relevant to human exposure, on the behavior of developing mammals concerning autistic features,” said lead study author Stephanie Degroote, MSc, a PhD student at the
University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><font size="3" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext">“The clinical implications are major because these findings identify
preventable risk factors for one of the major public health concerns for which we have no prevention and no cure. The exploding prevalence of autism over the years as well as the high sex ratio (5 boys for 1 girl) point to an important role of the environment,
and according to our findings, to endocrine disruptors.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><font size="3" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext">Phthalates and brominated fire retardants are known endocrine disruptors.
Degroote said the findings from her study show that it may be important to now consider the combined effect of these numerous substances, even when present at low doses that are considered safe for each of the chemicals.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><font size="3" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext">Past studies have suggested that exposure in the womb to either phthalates
or flame retardants can affect mental and motor development and can provoke attention deficit. However, pregnant women are likely to come into contact with both chemicals simultaneously. They are common additives in many household plastic products, and flame
retardants are on most furniture foam cushions.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><font size="3" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext">Degroote and colleagues investigated what the combined effect of these
endocrine disruptors would be on the developing brain in mammals. Their study was performed in rat pups, which were divided into three groups.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><font size="3" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext">The first group included 28 pups whose pregnant mothers received low
doses (by tube feeding) of a mixture of various phthalates and brominated flame retardants. The second group included 20 unexposed pups and the third group included 18 pups given valproic acid, a drug that induces autism in humans and autistic-like behavior
in rats.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><font size="3" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext">The investigators found that the rat pups whose pregnant mothers received
the chemical mixture showed behavior similar to those seen in humans with autism spectrum disorders. These animals had reduced social interactions and increased hyperactive movements compared with unexposed pups.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><font size="3" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext">In general, males were more affected than females and demonstrated
less maternal bonding than their female counterparts. The third group, which served as a rat model of autism, had similar abnormal behaviors, including general developmental delays.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><font size="3" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext">“The take-home message of my study is that the simultaneous exposure
to several endocrine disruptors daily, even at low doses, can alter the development of the brain in utero and can lead to autistic features,” Degroote told
<i><span style="font-style:italic">Endocrinology Advisor</span></i>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><font size="3" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext">“Women of child-bearing age should be aware of the risk of such exposition
and consider ways to reduce their own exposure and the exposure of their children. With some changes in our habits, we can reduce our exposure and then reduce the risk for the future children to develop autistic features.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><font size="5" color="black" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:18.0pt;color:windowtext;font-weight:bold">Reference<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color:windowtext;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt">Degroote S et al. Abstract THR-290. Presented at:
<a href="https://www.endocrine.org/endo-2015" target="_blank"><font color="blue"><span style="color:blue">The Endocrine Society's 97th Annual Meeting & Expo (ENDO 2015)</span></font></a>; March 5-8, 2015; San Diego.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><o:p> </o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><o:p> </o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><o:p> </o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><o:p> </o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Deborah L. DeBiasi</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><b><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy;font-weight:bold">Email: Deborah.DeBiasi@deq.virginia.gov</span></font></b><b><i><font size="2" color="red"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:red;font-weight:bold;font-style:italic"><br>
</span></font></i></b><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">WEB site address:
<a href="http://www.deq.virginia.gov/">www.deq.virginia.gov</a></span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Virginia Department of Environmental Quality</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Office of Water Permits
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Industrial Pretreatment/Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Program</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><a href="http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDischargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx">http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDischargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx</a></span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Mail: P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Location: 629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">PH: 804-698-4028 FAX: 804-698-4032<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><o:p> </o:p></font></p>
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