Endocrine Abstracts

Recent research in male reproductive disorders has revealed that testicular germ cell cancer, undescended testis, poor semen quality and hypospadias may be biologically linked as a testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS). The evidence comes from a number of clinical, epidemiological and experimental animal studies, which are in line with the hypothesis that these disorders are of fetal origin. Core evidence comes from studies of the precursor to testicular germ cell cancer –...

There are robust data from all parts of the World that the incidence of testicular germ cell cancer, which is often associated with dysgenesis and poor spermatogenesis in adjacent ‘normal’ testicular tissue, has been increasing during the past 50 years. There is also evidence of widespread poor semen quality among young men in European countries, where there also have been reports on declining semen quality. Although the latter findings have been subject to controver...

Several recent animal studies have revealed that the gonad is particularly sensitive to exposures to endocrine disrupters during the early fetal period, when sex differentiation occurs. Thus exposure to doses of phthalates, which have small or no effects when given to adult rats, can have pronounced effects in male offspring of pregnant rats exposed to the same doses of DEHP and DBP. At certain dose levels the effects include severe dysgenesis of the testis, undescended testis...

Niels E Skakkebæk, University Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark AbstractNeils Skakkebaek graduated from Medical School, Copenhagen (1964) and received basic medical training at the St. Joseph's Hospital, Copenhagen and was also trained in pediatrics and medicine at various hospitals in Copenhagen and was awarded a doctorate in Medical Sciences from the University of Copenha...

Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, DenmarkHuman birth rates are decreasing in industrial countries and are now far below levels, where our populations can be sustained. Although some socio-economic analyses suggest that the trends are due to behavioral changes, adverse health factors may also be at play. In Europe, we have epidemics of infertility resulting in increasing need for assisted reproduction. In Den...

Introduction: There is concern that unintended environmental exposures to numerous chemicals, including bisphenol A (BPA), triclosan (TCS) and benzophenone-3 (BP-3), all of which can be detected in serum and urine, may have adverse endocrine effects on human reproduction. Less is known about the concentrations of these chemicals in other body fluids. Here we present data, which show that these three chemicals can also be present in seminal fluid of young men.<p class="abst...

Objective: Recent publications showing unexpectedly early breast development in American girls created debate worldwide. However, secular trend analyses are often limited by poor data comparability among studies done by different researchers in different time periods and populations. Here, we present new European data, systematically collected from the same region and by one research group at the beginning and end of the recent 15 year period.Methods: Tw...

The placenta is a highly specialized organ, which ensures nutrient uptake, waste elimination, provides thermo-regulation, prevents passage of some xenobiotic molecules and regulates the quantity of thyroid hormones (TH) necessary for the fetal development. It is known, that even minor changes in maternal TH levels, can alter the fetal growth. Several factors can modify TH levels during pregnancy. Among them, increasing evidences show that prenatal exposure to persistent organi...

Thyroid hormones (TH) of maternal origin are critical for the proper fetal development, especially during early pregnancy. Even minor changes in maternal TH circulation can lead to various adverse outcomes. Recent studies found that the metabolites of thyroxine (T4) also play an important physiological role. For example, 3,5-diiodo-L-thyronine (T2) and 3,3′-diiodo-L-thyronine (rT2) can suppress the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level ...