Spermatogenesis starts soon after birth in the Sprague-Dawley rat but is not fully established until about 56 days of age. When high oral doses of the plasticizer di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were given to rats of different ages, testicular damage was observed in immature but not in mature animals. Plasma concentration and urinary excretion data suggested that the gastrointestinal absorpti...

With the recent demonstration of the migration of phthalate ester plasticizers from vinyl plastic biomedical devices (1-4), its identification in human and animal tissues (5, 6), and evidence for its ubiquitous distribution in the environment (7, 8),tt it has become necessary to reevaluate the toxicologic potential of this class of chemical compounds. Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), as an exa...

BACKGROUND The ubiquitous use of phthalate esters in plastics, personal care products and food packaging materials results in widespread general population exposure. In this report, we extend our preliminary study on the relationship between urinary concentrations of phthalate metabolites and sperm DNA damage among a larger sample of men and include measurements of mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl)...

BACKGROUND Phthalate diesters are commonly used and have been well established as environmental endocrine disruptors. However, few studies have examined their effects on sex steroid hormones in children. We followed children over time to examine the association between pre- and post-natal phthalate exposure and sex steroid hormone levels at 2, 5, 8, and 11 years of age. METHODS We recruited 4...

Using a novel and highly selective technique, we measured monoester metabolites of seven commonly used phthalates in urine samples from a reference population of 289 adult humans. This analytical approach allowed us to directly measure the individual phthalate metabolites responsible for the animal reproductive and developmental toxicity while avoiding contamination from the ubiquitous parent c...

Urinary concentrations of metabolites of the anti-androgenic xenobiotic di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were previously shown to be weakly associated with serum levels of several hormones in 2 disparate US populations: partners of pregnant women participating in the Study for Future Families and partners in infertile couples from Massachusetts General Hospital infertility clinic. The ob...

BACKGROUND In May 2011, a major incident involving phthalates-contaminated foodstuffs occurred in Taiwan. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was added to foodstuffs, mainly juice, jelly, tea, sports drink, and dietary supplements. Concerns arose that normal pubertal development, especially reproductive hormone regulation in children, could be disrupted by DEHP exposure. OBJECTIVE To investiga...

BACKGROUND Few studies have shown an association between prenatal phthalate exposure and adverse effects on neurodevelopment and behavior in young children. OBJECTIVES We aimed to assess the relationship between prenatal exposure to phthalate esters and behavior syndromes in children at 8 years of age. METHODS A total of 122 mother-child pairs from the general population in central Taiwan w...

Phthalates are used as plasticizers and solvents in industrial, medical and consumer products; however, occupational exposure information is limited. We sought to obtain preliminary information on occupational exposures to diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) by analyzing for their metabolites in urine samples collected from workers in a cros...