Studies with lab animals have shown that BPA, the chemical found in certain clear plastics, can disrupt developing endocrine and hormone systems.
A new study with humans suggests that BPA exposure also affects mature hormone systems. Researchers looking at a group of 715 Italian men, ranging in age from 20 to 74, found subtle but measurable differences in testosterone levels, with men registering higher BPA levels also showing an uptick in hormone levels.
Tags: · BPA, BPA in resin, BPA raises hormone levels, BPA raises testosterone, food containers with BPA, polycarbonate plastic
The news on bisphenol A or BPA just doesn’t get better. The chemical, used to make plastic baby bottles and food can liners, could deliver a double-whammy to women, paving the way for breast cancer, and then boomeranging back to interfere with the treatment for cancer recovery.
A study by University of Cincinnati scientists released this week found that BPA exposure may reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer patients.
Researchers found that this man-made chemical – already implicated as a potential trigger in breast cancer because it is structurally similar to the estrogenic DES – induced a group of proteins in the body to protect breast cancer cells from the chemotherapy.
Resistance to chemotherapy is already a “major problem for cancer patients, especially those with advanced metastatic disease,” said UC’s Nira Ben-Jonathan, a professor of cell biology who’s been studying BPA for more than a decade.
Tags: · baby bottles, bisphenol-A, BPA, breast cancer, chemotherapy, food packaging, hormone disruptor, polycarbonate plastic
Barbara Kessler
Andrew Winston
Danielle Nierenberg
Anthony Swift