| Ilena Rose 2005-07-31, 11:52 am |
|
Thanks to our Cindy Morrissey for this disturbing and revealing
article.
What we read the other day from the WSJ on the hazards being revealed
in only minute amounts of chemicals gives me hope that the quackwatch
/ junk science propaganda facade is finally crumbling.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/articl...1707787,00.html
Health features
July 26, 2005
‘Is my baby a boy? Is it a girl?’ No one could tell me
by Steve Boggan
The number of male babies born with reproductive disorders is rising
rapidly, and some scientists blame a group of chemicals that are
around us
AS ALL mothers do, Sue Green remembers vividly the moment that her
first baby was born, but not for the usual reasons. “The midwife was
smiling, then her face fell,” recalls Sue. “ ‘Congratulations,’ she
said. ‘It’s a . . . ’ And then there was silence.”
The silence continued for some time. Doctors looked at the child. So
did nurses. And, over the next few hours, medical students. But none
of them said anything. With mounting anxiety, the exhausted mother
asked what was wrong. “You’re not telling me something!” she remembers
screaming. “Is it a boy or a girl?” But they couldn’t tell her.
Sue and her husband John had just become parents to a beautiful child
that looked like a boy, but his sexual organs were terribly
deformed.The baby had been born with a condition called hypospadias, a
malformation whereby the opening in the penis through which urine is
passed is in the wrong place. In mild cases it is slightly off centre,
but in more severe cases it might be at the base of the penis or even
beneath the scrotum.
In the case of their son, Mark, they couldn’t find an opening at all.
Nor could they identify a penis; it was somehow fused to a tiny
scrotum. In fact, it took four weeks of chromosome tests to establish
that the baby was a boy.
This augured years of difficult times and painful surgery ahead. Taken
as part of a bigger picture, cases such as Mark’s — corrected after
six operations over three years — are raising the alarm among medical
scientists across the industrialised world, because what happened to
him is happening more often to newborn babies in families with no
history of the condition. It is part of a growing incidence of genital
deformities, poor fertility rates and an explosion in testicular
cancers that, together, are screaming out that something is wrong.
As yet, no one can say for sure what causes the problems. However,
there are suspicions about chemicals in the environment — compounds
that have the potential to upset the delicate balance of hormones in
the body. Prosaically called “endocrine disrupters”, they touch on
every aspect of our lives. They are found in the plastics, carpets and
fabrics all around you. Tiny amounts are found in your milk,
vegetables and in some packaging surrounding your food. They are in
your make-up, perfumes, face creams and the sun lotions that protect
your skin. They are in the pesticides that allow your food to grow —
and even in the coatings of slow-release medicines. In fact, there is
nothing that you can do to avoid them.
In May, more than 120 scientists from around the world met in Prague
and issued a declaration to Western governments giving warning that
reproductive problems were increasing in developed nations, and
calling for more research into what was causing them.
The declaration made two points clear: first, that “there is serious
concern about the high prevalence of reproductive disorders in
European boys and young men”, and, secondly, that endocrine disrupters
may be one of the factors responsible. Last month, scientists found
the first evidence — which is hotly disputed — that they could be
right.
When Mark Green was born in 1995, his mother had never heard of
hypospadias; neither had many of the medical staff at Antrim Hospital
in Northern Ireland where he was delivered. “They were obviously very
concerned because they couldn’t find a hole through which Mark could
pass water,” recalls Sue, 34, a care worker. “They rushed him to Royal
Victoria Hospital for Sick Children in Belfast — still without telling
me what was wrong — where a specialist found an opening in his
scrotum. Eventually, they told my husband that Mark had hypospadias,
but we couldn’t find any information about it anywhere.
“I was devastated and deeply worried. Everyone wants their baby to be
perfect, but this was something that we’d never heard of. And more
than anything, it was something that we felt we couldn’t talk about.
Outside my immediate family, there was no one to share our worries.”
Over a period of three years, Mark underwent six operations to
separate his penis from the scrotum, to construct a urinary tract and
to enable him to urinate normally. He is now 10 and his parents are
still waiting to find out whether his sexual organs will function
properly in puberty. It is a source of enormous concern for them.
Even worse, until four years ago, Sue was wrongly blaming herself for
his condition. She had been suffering from an illness of her own and
had been taking medication to alleviate the symptoms.
“I thought that the medication had caused Mark’s problems,” she says.
“I felt terribly guilty that that had affected him somehow. I thought
that it was my fault. It wasn’t until we were referred to a geneticist
that I was assured that wasn’t the case.”
By then, medical thinking was changing. In 1993, Professor Richard
Sharpe, of the Medical Research Council’s Human Reproductive Sciences
Unit, and Professor Niels Skakkebaek, of the Department of Growth and
Reproduction at Copenhagen university Hospital, published a paper in
The Lancet suggesting that high levels of oestrogen in the environment
could be responsible for damaging semen and other reproductive
problems.
There was ample evidence in the wild that exposure to oestrogen had
demasculinised creatures, including fish and alligators in rivers that
contained the female hormone. It seemed that the synthetic oestrogen
used in the contraceptive pill had not been breaking down during
sewage treatment and was passing into the environment.
Health features
July 26, 2005
‘Is my baby a boy? Is it a girl?’ No one could tell me
by Steve Boggan
The number of male babies born with reproductive disorders is rising
rapidly, and some scientists blame a group of chemicals that are
around us
AS ALL mothers do, Sue Green remembers vividly the moment that her
first baby was born, but not for the usual reasons. “The midwife was
smiling, then her face fell,” recalls Sue. “ ‘Congratulations,’ she
said. ‘It’s a . . . ’ And then there was silence.”
The silence continued for some time. Doctors looked at the child. So
did nurses. And, over the next few hours, medical students. But none
of them said anything. With mounting anxiety, the exhausted mother
asked what was wrong. “You’re not telling me something!” she remembers
screaming. “Is it a boy or a girl?” But they couldn’t tell her.
Sue and her husband John had just become parents to a beautiful child
that looked like a boy, but his sexual organs were terribly
deformed.The baby had been born with a condition called hypospadias, a
malformation whereby the opening in the penis through which urine is
passed is in the wrong place. In mild cases it is slightly off centre,
but in more severe cases it might be at the base of the penis or even
beneath the scrotum.
In the case of their son, Mark, they couldn’t find an opening at all.
Nor could they identify a penis; it was somehow fused to a tiny
scrotum. In fact, it took four weeks of chromosome tests to establish
that the baby was a boy.
This augured years of difficult times and painful surgery ahead. Taken
as part of a bigger picture, cases such as Mark’s — corrected after
six operations over three years — are raising the alarm among medical
scientists across the industrialised world, because what happened to
him is happening more often to newborn babies in families with no
history of the condition. It is part of a growing incidence of genital
deformities, poor fertility rates and an explosion in testicular
cancers that, together, are screaming out that something is wrong.
As yet, no one can say for sure what causes the problems. However,
there are suspicions about chemicals in the environment — compounds
that have the potential to upset the delicate balance of hormones in
the body. Prosaically called “endocrine disrupters”, they touch on
every aspect of our lives. They are found in the plastics, carpets and
fabrics all around you. Tiny amounts are found in your milk,
vegetables and in some packaging surrounding your food. They are in
your make-up, perfumes, face creams and the sun lotions that protect
your skin. They are in the pesticides that allow your food to grow —
and even in the coatings of slow-release medicines. In fact, there is
nothing that you can do to avoid them.
In May, more than 120 scientists from around the world met in Prague
and issued a declaration to Western governments giving warning that
reproductive problems were increasing in developed nations, and
calling for more research into what was causing them.
The declaration made two points clear: first, that “there is serious
concern about the high prevalence of reproductive disorders in
European boys and young men”, and, secondly, that endocrine disrupters
may be one of the factors responsible. Last month, scientists found
the first evidence — which is hotly disputed — that they could be
right.
When Mark Green was born in 1995, his mother had never heard of
hypospadias; neither had many of the medical staff at Antrim Hospital
in Northern Ireland where he was delivered. “They were obviously very
concerned because they couldn’t find a hole through which Mark could
pass water,” recalls Sue, 34, a care worker. “They rushed him to Royal
Victoria Hospital for Sick Children in Belfast — still without telling
me what was wrong — where a specialist found an opening in his
scrotum. Eventually, they told my husband that Mark had hypospadias,
but we couldn’t find any information about it anywhere.
“I was devastated and deeply worried. Everyone wants their baby to be
perfect, but this was something that we’d never heard of. And more
than anything, it was something that we felt we couldn’t talk about.
Outside my immediate family, there was no one to share our worries.”
Over a period of three years, Mark underwent six operations to
separate his penis from the scrotum, to construct a urinary tract and
to enable him to urinate normally. He is now 10 and his parents are
still waiting to find out whether his sexual organs will function
properly in puberty. It is a source of enormous concern for them.
Even worse, until four years ago, Sue was wrongly blaming herself for
his condition. She had been suffering from an illness of her own and
had been taking medication to alleviate the symptoms.
“I thought that the medication had caused Mark’s problems,” she says.
“I felt terribly guilty that that had affected him somehow. I thought
that it was my fault. It wasn’t until we were referred to a geneticist
that I was assured that wasn’t the case.”
By then, medical thinking was changing. In 1993, Professor Richard
Sharpe, of the Medical Research Council’s Human Reproductive Sciences
Unit, and Professor Niels Skakkebaek, of the Department of Growth and
Reproduction at Copenhagen university Hospital, published a paper in
The Lancet suggesting that high levels of oestrogen in the environment
could be responsible for damaging semen and other reproductive
problems.
There was ample evidence in the wild that exposure to oestrogen had
demasculinised creatures, including fish and alligators in rivers that
contained the female hormone. It seemed that the synthetic oestrogen
used in the contraceptive pill had not been breaking down during
sewage treatment and was passing into the environment.
Health features
July 26, 2005
‘Is my baby a boy? Is it a girl?’ No one could tell me
by Steve Boggan
The number of male babies born with reproductive disorders is rising
rapidly, and some scientists blame a group of chemicals that are
around us
AS ALL mothers do, Sue Green remembers vividly the moment that her
first baby was born, but not for the usual reasons. “The midwife was
smiling, then her face fell,” recalls Sue. “ ‘Congratulations,’ she
said. ‘It’s a . . . ’ And then there was silence.”
The silence continued for some time. Doctors looked at the child. So
did nurses. And, over the next few hours, medical students. But none
of them said anything. With mounting anxiety, the exhausted mother
asked what was wrong. “You’re not telling me something!” she remembers
screaming. “Is it a boy or a girl?” But they couldn’t tell her.
Sue and her husband John had just become parents to a beautiful child
that looked like a boy, but his sexual organs were terribly
deformed.The baby had been born with a condition called hypospadias, a
malformation whereby the opening in the penis through which urine is
passed is in the wrong place. In mild cases it is slightly off centre,
but in more severe cases it might be at the base of the penis or even
beneath the scrotum.
In the case of their son, Mark, they couldn’t find an opening at all.
Nor could they identify a penis; it was somehow fused to a tiny
scrotum. In fact, it took four weeks of chromosome tests to establish
that the baby was a boy.
This augured years of difficult times and painful surgery ahead. Taken
as part of a bigger picture, cases such as Mark’s — corrected after
six operations over three years — are raising the alarm among medical
scientists across the industrialised world, because what happened to
him is happening more often to newborn babies in families with no
history of the condition. It is part of a growing incidence of genital
deformities, poor fertility rates and an explosion in testicular
cancers that, together, are screaming out that something is wrong.
As yet, no one can say for sure what causes the problems. However,
there are suspicions about chemicals in the environment — compounds
that have the potential to upset the delicate balance of hormones in
the body. Prosaically called “endocrine disrupters”, they touch on
every aspect of our lives. They are found in the plastics, carpets and
fabrics all around you. Tiny amounts are found in your milk,
vegetables and in some packaging surrounding your food. They are in
your make-up, perfumes, face creams and the sun lotions that protect
your skin. They are in the pesticides that allow your food to grow —
and even in the coatings of slow-release medicines. In fact, there is
nothing that you can do to avoid them.
In May, more than 120 scientists from around the world met in Prague
and issued a declaration to Western governments giving warning that
reproductive problems were increasing in developed nations, and
calling for more research into what was causing them.
The declaration made two points clear: first, that “there is serious
concern about the high prevalence of reproductive disorders in
European boys and young men”, and, secondly, that endocrine disrupters
may be one of the factors responsible. Last month, scientists found
the first evidence — which is hotly disputed — that they could be
right.
When Mark Green was born in 1995, his mother had never heard of
hypospadias; neither had many of the medical staff at Antrim Hospital
in Northern Ireland where he was delivered. “They were obviously very
concerned because they couldn’t find a hole through which Mark could
pass water,” recalls Sue, 34, a care worker. “They rushed him to Royal
Victoria Hospital for Sick Children in Belfast — still without telling
me what was wrong — where a specialist found an opening in his
scrotum. Eventually, they told my husband that Mark had hypospadias,
but we couldn’t find any information about it anywhere.
“I was devastated and deeply worried. Everyone wants their baby to be
perfect, but this was something that we’d never heard of. And more
than anything, it was something that we felt we couldn’t talk about.
Outside my immediate family, there was no one to share our worries.”
Over a period of three years, Mark underwent six operations to
separate his penis from the scrotum, to construct a urinary tract and
to enable him to urinate normally. He is now 10 and his parents are
still waiting to find out whether his sexual organs will function
properly in puberty. It is a source of enormous concern for them.
Even worse, until four years ago, Sue was wrongly blaming herself for
his condition. She had been suffering from an illness of her own and
had been taking medication to alleviate the symptoms.
“I thought that the medication had caused Mark’s problems,” she says.
“I felt terribly guilty that that had affected him somehow. I thought
that it was my fault. It wasn’t until we were referred to a geneticist
that I was assured that wasn’t the case.”
By then, medical thinking was changing. In 1993, Professor Richard
Sharpe, of the Medical Research Council’s Human Reproductive Sciences
Unit, and Professor Niels Skakkebaek, of the Department of Growth and
Reproduction at Copenhagen university Hospital, published a paper in
The Lancet suggesting that high levels of oestrogen in the environment
could be responsible for damaging semen and other reproductive
problems.
There was ample evidence in the wild that exposure to oestrogen had
demasculinised creatures, including fish and alligators in rivers that
contained the female hormone. It seemed that the synthetic oestrogen
used in the contraceptive pill had not been breaking down during
sewage treatment and was passing into the environment.
The chemical industry rejects Professor Swan’s findings and
methodology, pointing out that under EU testing regulations phthalates
have been examined rigorously over the past decade and been given the
all-clear.
Dr David Cadogan, of the European Council of Plasticisers and
Intermediates, says: “In general, the phthalates that have been risk-
assessed are not showing any risk to humans. There have been similar
tests to Professor Swan’s that contradict her findings.”
Nevertheless, parents of children with hypospadias, adult sufferers
and the surgeons who treat them remain suspicious. They would like to
see more government money being spent on research, accurate
statistic-gathering and lifelong help for victims.
The European Parliament is so concerned about the potential damaging
effects of phthalates that on July 5 it voted to ban three types of
the plasticisers from children’s toys.
Jane Clarke, a community paediatric nurse, runs the Hypospadias
Support Group from her home in Warrington. She says: “I set up the
group seven years ago to help parents; there was so much anxiety and
very little information out there. But I’ve never been busier than I
am now — I’m inundated, particularly with calls from people asking for
advice about corrective surgery. There is a lot of confusion out
there.”
Indeed there is. Aivar Bracka, a consultant genito-urethral plastic
surgeon at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, is regarded as the
country’s best at correcting hypospadias. Yet because there are no NHS
rules on which type of surgeon — general paediatric, paediatric
urologist, plastic surgeon — should operate, 30 per cent of all his
work involves correcting the mistakes of others, what he describes as
“salvage work ”.
For now, that is where this story ends; in mystery and confusion. And
for the thousands of silent sufferers in the community, that isn’t
good enough. One of them, William, 58, a hypospadias victim, sums up
the frustration. “I was delivered by my grandfather, a doctor, and my
own father was a doctor, but I was over 30 years old before I even
heard the word hypospadias,” he says.
“I went through childhood in ignorance; the first I knew that there
was something wrong was in the showers at school. Then I realised that
I was different and the teasing began; it was a nightmare.
“I, like all hypospadias sufferers, avoided sexual relations until
very late. I got no help, no advice and no information. When surgeons
do get involved they are often the wrong surgeons — I had no
corrective surgery.
“And no thought is given to the psychosexual aspect of the condition.
This is a huge problem, an enormous secret wrapped in shame, a secret
that thousands of people carry with them through life, never
discussing it with anyone.”
Now, given that all the evidence suggests such problems are on the
increase, perhaps this is a secret that should finally be shared.
Some names have been changed.
Hypospadias Support Group: www.hypospadias.co.uk
Concerned parents group: www.groups.yahoo.com/group/hypospadias
Phthalates Information Centre: www.phthalates.org
Hard to avoid
ENDOCRINE disrupters and toxic chemicals such as some phthalates,
biphenyl A (BPA), brominated BPA and polycarbonated biphenyls (PCBs)
are present in plastics, furnishings, cosmetics and some food and
drink containers. They can be directly absorbed through the skin, or
by drinking or eating products that have been contaminated through the
food chain.
There is little that you can do to avoid them, although some experts
recommend eating organic meat, fruit and vegetables and drinking only
from glass bottles (although the chemicals industry argues that
plastic bottles are perfectly safe).
Some also advise against letting children wear T-shirts bearing
plastic pictures or logos. Greenpeace lists household products that it
believes are safer than others; visit www.greenpeace.org.uk
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