They concluded that "early life exposure ... may result in persistent adverse effects in humans."
"There is essentially no difference in the way that rat or mouse cells respond to BPA and the way that humans respond to it," Vom Saal said. Though the amount in humans "may seem like an incredibly small amount, it causes effects in human cells at the part-per-trillion level," he said.
In the newest animal study, the lead scientist, Retha Newbold of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, said BPA caused reproductive tract damage similar to the anti-miscarriage drug DES (diethylstilbestrol), a synthetic estrogen that was prescribed to pregnant women from the 1940s until the late 1970s. The drug led to "DES daughters," who were born with reproductive defects that caused infertility and cancers.
Newbold said it was "quite possible that endometriosis, in particular fibroids," could be a result in women exposed to low levels of BPA as infants or fetuses.
"Fibroids is one of our major concerns because they affect 70% of U.S. women" and often lead to hysterectomies, she said.
Hentges of the plastics industry said the study had no relevance to humans because the mice were injected with high doses of BPA. He said other animal studies were inconsistent.
The various articles in Reproductive Toxicology are available through the following paid website:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/08906238
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marla.cone@latimes.com
