Environmental health perspectives

Organochlorines are persistent lipophilic compounds that accumulate in Inuit people living in circumpolar countries. Organochlorines accumulate as a result of the Inuits' large consumption of sea mammal fat; however, available data are limi…

Autoimmune disease occurs when the immune system attacks self-molecules as a result of a breakdown of immunologic tolerance to autoreactive immune cells. Many autoimmune disorders have been strongly associated with genetic, infectious, and/…

A subgroup from a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, workshop concerned with characterizing the effects of endocrine disruptors on human health at environmental exposure levels considered the question, If diethylstilbestro…

We evaluated predictors of plasma concentrations of dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), a metabolite of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in a group of 240 women, controls from a breast cancer c…

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs program reevaluated polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and evaluated polychlorinated dibenzofurans as possible carcinogenic hazards to humans in February 1997, using the most …

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is the most potent member of a class of chlorinated hydrocarbons that interact with the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). TCDD and dioxinlike compounds are environmentally and biologically stable an…

Patterns of illness in American children have changed dramatically in this century. The ancient infectious diseases have largely been controlled. The major diseases confronting children now are chronic and disabling conditions termed the "n…

The human diet contains industrial-derived, endocrine-active chemicals and higher levels of naturally occurring compounds that modulate multiple endocrine pathways. Hazard and risk assessment of these mixtures is complicated by noadditive i…

This report is an overview of the current state of the science relative to environmental endocrine disruption in humans, laboratory testing, and wildlife species. Background information is presented on the field of endocrinology, the nature…

There is considerable public, regulatory, and scientific concern regarding human exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which include compounds that directly modulate steroid hormone receptor pathways (estrogens, antiestrogens, androge…

It has been suggested that chemicals and complex mixtures capable of modulating the endocrine system may contribute to adverse health, reproduction, and developmental effects in humans and wildlife. These effects include increased incidence…

Persistent polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) metabolites were studied with respect to their interaction with the human glucocorticoid receptor (GR). 3-Methylsulphonyl-2,5,6,2',4',5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (3-MeSO2-CB149) was shown to compete with …

The ultimate goal of the Environmental Genome Project is the improvement of human health on the basis of information about the variations in certain genes. The first phase of the project will involve the selection of the human genes and cha…

Cancers of the reproductive system are among the leading causes of mortality in women in the United States. While both genetic and environmental factors have been implicated in their etiology, the extent of the contribution of environmental…

It was initially reported that levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or p,p'-DDE were elevated in breast cancer patients (serum or tissue) versus controls. These results, coupled with reports that selected environmental estrogens decre…

Previous studies showed exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) enhances the development of endometriotic lesions. In this study we examined the effects of other polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons on endometriotic …