Endocrine Abstracts

Male reproductive development depends on normal testicular hormones that induce masculinization in fetal and early postnatal life. Genetic and environmental factors that disrupt reproductive hormone production or action cause congenital reproductive organ defects, such as undescended testes, hypospadias, and short anogenital distance, while in adult life the adverse effects may appear as poor semen quality or testicular germ cell cancer. This spectrum of reproductive disorders has been named testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS), and it can present as one or multiple disorders of TDS. Congenital cryptorchidism or hypospadias have been associated with exposure to several endocrine disruptors that can be classified as antiandrogens, dioxin-like or estrogenic compounds. Concomitant exposure to a large mixture of endocrine disruptors raises concern, although exposure levels to single chemicals might seem safe. Legislation to secure chemical safety and international agreements, such as Stockholm convention have made our environment cleaner, but constant emergence of new chemicals poses a challenge to preventive medicine. We are acting often only after the harm has occurred.