Monday September 1, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) --
A new study suggests that bisphenol A could be
more harmful than thought.
It has found
that the chemical at the level found commonly found in humans' blood can
suppress a hormone that protects people from heart attacks and type 2 disease.
The study appeared online in Environmental Health
Perspectives August 14, a day before the Food and Drug Administration claimed
that bisphenol A is safe at current exposure levels.
Early studies revealed that bisphenol A has a wide array
of adverse effects in lab animals including reproductive problems, certain
cancers and asthma.
The National Toxicology Program has conducted a thorough
review on bisphenol A and its health effect and concluded in a draft brief
issued April 14 and peer reviewed June 11 that "there is some concern for
neural and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants, and children at current
human exposures. The NTP also has some concern for bisphenol A exposure in
these populations based on effects in the prostate gland, mammary gland, and an
earlier age for puberty in females."
The study led by Nira Ben-Jonathan, an endocrinologist at
the University of Cincinnati in Ohio showed the level of adiponectin, a
protective hormone released by human breast fat cells decreased after exposure
to bisphenol A. The effective levels of the chemical were commonly found in
human blood.
In the study, the researchers exposed some human cells to
estradiol, a natural human estrogen and some to bisphenol A.
Both groups of cells released reduced amounts
of the protective hormone adiponectin, which protects against heart attacks and
type 2 disease.
"These findings provide the molecular basis for
bisphenol A being implicated in both obesity and potentially the associated
disease that is now being detected in children and adolescents -- type 2
diabetes," Frederick vom Saal, a specialist in endocrine disruptors from
the University of Missouri in Columbia was quoted as commenting.
Bisphenol A, first synthesized in
1895 and found later in 1936 to be a synthetic estrogen (a female hormone) has
been used in hard, polycarbonate plastics, epoxy resins used in the linings of
some food and beverage containers including baby bottles and toddler
sippy cups, the
lining of aluminum cans for baby formulas, dental sealants and other consumer products such as sunglasses and
CDs.
Canada is considering to ban use of this chemical.
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