Exposure to a variety of anthropogenic compounds has been shown to interfere with normal development, physiology, and reproduction in a wide range of organisms, both in laboratory studies and wildlife. We have developed a Cyprinus carpio cDNA microarray consisting of endocrine-related genes. In the current study, we investigated the applicability of this microarray (1) to study the molecular ef...

Organic micro-pollutants accumulate to a certain extent in sewage sludge and are therefore ecologically relevant if the sludge is to be reused in both agriculture and landscaping applications. This paper describes the degradation of endocrine-disrupting compounds and other micro-contaminants by means of ozone and ultrasonic treatment. One of the findings is that, as expected, aromatic compounds...

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are emerging contaminants that have been found ubiquitously in wastewater and surface waters around the world. A major source of these compounds is incomplete metabolism in humans and subsequent excretion in human waste, resulting in discharge into surface waters by wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. One pharmaceutical found in particu...

This review provides a brief survey of the biological effects of selected endocrine-disrupting compounds that are formed after internal exposure of organisms. Further, the present analytical methods available for the determination of these compounds in foodstuffs are critically evaluated. The attention is primarily devoted to the methods for sample pretreatment, which are the main source of err...

Natural and synthetic steroidal estrogens (estrone, 17beta-estradiol and 17alpha-ethinylestradiol) are endocrine disrupters, that are discharged consistently from the sewage treatment works into surface waters, thereby causing endocrine disrupting effects to aquatic organisms at trace concentrations (nanogram per litre). Several years of research have been focused on their fate, behaviour and r...

Breast cancer strikes one out of eight women in Switzerland. The increase in breast cancer incidence over the past 70 years parallels an enormous increase of man-made, persistent chemicals in our environment; some of which have endocrine-disrupting properties in wildlife and/or in animal models. Epidemiological evidence is strong that a woman’s risk to get breast cancer is linked to her reprodu...

There is increasing evidence both from epidemiology studies and animal models that specific endocrine-disrupting compounds may influence the development or progression of prostate cancer. In large part, these effects appear to be linked to interference with estrogen signaling, either through interacting with ERs or by influencing steroid metabolism and altering estrogen levels within the body. ...

Emerging contaminants (ECs) are chemical compounds commonly present in water. It is only recently that this family of compounds is being recognized as significant water pollutants (Czech and Ribinowska, 2013). ECs include a wide variety of chemicals such as pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), pesticides, hydrocarbons and hormones, among others, that once released into the environ...

Environmental agencies have identified a growing number of environmental contaminants that have endocrine disrupting activity, and these can become a major public health problem. It is suggested that endocrine disruptors could account for the higher-than-expected increase in the prevalence of some non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, thyroid diseases, and some cancers. Several ...

Endocrine disrupting substances in the environment and the potential affects they have on wildlife species has recently received increased public attention. This paper provides background information on research that has addressed the endocrine disruption issue in the Canadian aquatic environment as well as information on studies that are presently being conducted within the country to address ...