Monkey Study Links BPA to Miscarriage and Birth Defects

Another study, this one involving monkeys, has linked BPA (bisphenol A) to miscarriages and birth defects. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The new study discovered what it described as “compelling” evidence that BPA may negatively affect women’s reproductive systems and lead to chromosomal damage, birth defects, and miscarriages, said FoxNews. The research, conducted by Washington State University and the University of California, Davis, revealed that rhesus monkeys exposed to BPA in utero suffered from significant reproductive abnormalities. Those abnormalities, said FoxNews, increased the monkeys’ risks for giving birth to offspring with birth defects, such as Down’s Syndrome, or suffering a miscarriage. Prior studies conducted on rodents and worms revealed similar effects; however, because the Rhesus monkeys’ reproductive systems are very similar to those in humans, this research “hits much closer to home,” Dr. Patricia Hunt, a geneticist and professor of molecular biosciences at Washington State University, told FoxNews.com.

Experts describe the ubiquitous phenol-acetone chemical as being an estrogenic mimicker and hormone disrupter that leeches from food/beverage containers into foods. Yet, BPA is U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for use in shatter-resistant polycarbonate plastic and durable epoxy resins, which are used in food/beverage container linings. BPA leaches into the skin and into products—hot or cold—from common items (paper money, toilet paper, receipts). An anti-androgen, BPA blocks hormone activity; mimics the powerful female hormone, estrogen; and can interrupt sexual development and processes, especially in developing fetuses, infants, children, and teens.

BPA’s links to reproductive system diseases are staggering and span to fetal development, likely due to its hormone-mimicking and -blocking properties. Issues include effects on uterine health and mammalian reproduction; a deadly uterine infection; premature puberty; Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and other female fertility and endocrine issues; and erectile dysfunction and male sexual problems. Significantly, BPA’s effects have been found to be immediate, long lasting, and trans-generational, meaning effects could carry years into the future. Despite all this, the FDA said the information on BPA does not suggest that very low BPA exposure through diet is unsafe.

This study found that when pregnant monkeys were dosed either with a single daily BPA dose or low-level continuous doses, meant to copy exposure levels in humans, cellular changes occurred in those cells that would become eggs in the developing fetus, said FoxNews. Because of this, once the offspring were ready to reproduce, the egg cells were unable to divide appropriately, causing the fertilized egg to have the wrong number of chromosomes, which could lead to birth defects and miscarriages. “The really stunning thing about the effect is we’re dosing grandma,” Hunt said in a released statement, according to FoxNews. “It’s crossing the placenta and hitting her developing fetus, and if that fetus is a female, it’s changing the likelihood that that female is going to ovulate normal eggs.”

In monkeys continually exposed to BPA, the fetal eggs were not packaged correctly in follicles and would not be able to grow, develop, and mature, the researchers explained to FoxNews. “This means will probably end up with a lot fewer eggs to work with, because a female is born with all the eggs she’s going to have,” Hunt said. “Her reproductive lifespan may be shorter.” Hunt also pointed out to FoxNews that the research provided “compelling evidence” that three different experimental models—worms, mice, monkeys—revealed similar effects.

We recently wrote that exposure to BPA may lead to obesity in children and teens, according to another emerging study on the ubiquitous polycarbonate plastics chemical. In fact, BPA has been linked to a wide and growing array of adverse physical effects, according to hundreds of scientific studies.

The estrogenic hormone mimicker was also recently linked to increased heart risks, adding to a growing body of evidence that has made this association. And, studies have linked BPA to a wide and growing range of health effects that seem to affect nearly every bodily system: Brain tumors, hormone-sensitive cancers, brain and social behaviors, increased anxiety and depression, brain cell connection interference, interruptions in chemotherapy treatment, increased risks of immune system diseases and disorders, liver function and intestinal problems, and cardiac issues and fat cell confusion and pancreatic issues relating to diabetes. Most recently, behavior problems were linked to tooth fillings containing the chemical.