A TRAGEDY IN THE MAKING

To understand many of the problems associated with man-made chemicals, we must understand the role of hormones and the endocrine system of the human and non-human body.

Most people would like to think that the human body is distinct and different from the animal world, but the molecular hormones that Homo-sapiens generate are in fact identical to most of those in the animal world. It would seem that once the principals were fine-tuned then they remained unchanged throughout creation.

Scientists have marveled at the lack of change over millions of years, even though we all tend to believe evolutionary innovation and change are the norm.

Hormones are produced by a variety of organs known as the endocrine glands. These include the ovaries, the testicles, the pancreas, the adrenals, the thyroid, the parathyroid and the thymus. The pituitary and the hypothalamus are "mission control centre." They send hormone signals throughout the body to create reactions in our bodies.

"The (hormonal) messages travel back and forth continuously; without this cross talk and constant feedback, the human body would be an unruly mob of some 50 trillion cells rather than an integrated organism operating from a single script."

Now it is difficult to comprehend the small amount of hormone that is generated and needed to create a reaction in a receptor. If you can visualize Puslinch Lake (give or take a gallon) with the addition of one drop of Scotch, then you have an idea as to the concentration of some hormones. This becomes even more unfathomable when you realize this one drop increased or decreased by 30% may cause a different biological result.

Now this concentration may seem easier to comprehend if you imagine that the hormone molecules are like iron latch keys passed over magnetic locks. They are drawn in and fit precisely into place. Each hormone has (or perhaps I should say "had") its own particular 'made for each other' counterpart.

The scary problem is that scientists have developed, and others have identified, fifty-one synthetic chemicals that act as hormone mimickers. Some mimickers occupy the receptor and turn on the biological response; others occupy the receptor and block all messages from the receptor; some resist natural decay and reek havoc for long periods (even years).

Up to this point in this paper, we have evaluated the effect of hormones and hormone mimickers on an adult, or on a fully developed human being. These chemical induced false reactions alone could be so diverse as to be a physician's nightmare, but unfortunately it gets worse.

OK, now as if this wasn't complicated enough, lets look at how hormones, and their mimickers, effect an embryo in the stages of division and development. With this equation, timing is the major key. If something disrupts the hormonal cues during a critical period of development, it can have serious lifelong consequences for the offspring whether flea, frog, or child. The results can be frightening and are certainly unjust.

To illustrate, we need to look no further than the drug diethylstilbestrol, or DES. This drug was the first synthetic estrogen ever developed. It was touted as the miracle of the age and was prescribed almost like a vitamin would be. (We marveled at how clever we Homo-saps were.) It was given to suppress milk production after childbirth, to treat acne, prostate cancer, and even as a morning-after contraceptive. Farmers used tons of it as a feed additive because it speeded the fattening of chickens, cows, etc. It was also prescribed to help women who had trouble conceiving and had had miscarriages. There were no immediate or obvious problems.

About 20 years after the drug was in common usage, doctors started to detect an alarming increase in the number of clear-cell cancers in female reproductive organs. Radical surgery did not always save the lives of these poor young women. In addition to the cancers, it was found that there was also severely deformed uteri in most of the same women.

Males fared no better than the females in this dilemma. Undescended and stunted testicles, cysts, stunted organs, abnormal sperm, and reduced fertility were found in the sons of mothers who used the drug.

It was found that DES had somehow interfered with the hormone messages during the stage when sexual development was being triggered in the fetus. If the drug was taken between the 10th and 20th week of pregnancy, the malformations and cancers were most evident. Outside this window the fetus "appears to have been unaffected."

"This tragic and untended experiment demonstrated that chemicals can cross the placenta, disrupt the development of the baby, and have serious effects that might not be evident until decades later."

"Drugs that have no discernible effect on an adult can have serious repercussions for any life form that is in rapid prenatal development."

This paper relates solely to a single chemical hormone mimicker. One chemical and one hormone. There are many others that will be reported in future papers.

All quotations in this article come from the Cambridge library edition of Our Stolen Future.

My wife suggests that I should lighten up a bit. I will next week when we introduce the "Revenge of the Killer Clover."

Have a nice day.