Male reproductive health and environmental xenoestrogens.

Abstract

Male reproductive health has deteriorated in many countries during the last few decades. In the 1990s, declining semen quality has been reported from Belgium, Denmark, France, and Great Britain. The incidence of testicular cancer has increased during the same time. Incidences of hypospadias and cryptorchidism also appear to be increasing. Similar reproductive problems occur in many wildlife species. There are marked geographic differences in the prevalence of male reproductive disorders. While the reasons for these differences are currently unknown, both clinical and laboratory research suggest that the adverse changes may be inter-related and have a common origin in fetal life or childhood. Exposure of the male fetus to supranormal levels of estrogens, such as diethlylstilbestrol, can result in the above-mentioned reproductive defects. The growing number of reports demonstrating that common environmental contaminants and natural factors possess estrogenic activity presents the working hypothesis that the adverse trends in male reproductive health may be, at least in part, associated with exposure to estrogenic or other hormonally active (e.g., antiandrogenic) environmental chemicals during fetal and childhood development. An extensive research program is needed to understand the extent of the problem, its underlying etiology, and the development of a strategy for prevention and intervention. Environ Health Perspect 104(Suppl 4): 741-803 (1996)

Effect of estrogen receptor-subtype-specific ligands on fertility in adult male rats

“…Also, ERaKO testis shows atropic and degenerating seminiferous tubules and the epididymis was found to be hypospermic, whereas no histopathological defects in the testis and epididymis were observed in ERbKO male mice despite the sterility (Antal et al 2008, Chen et al 2009a. Another cause of the increased attention to the role of estrogens in male reproduction can be attributed to several reports that exposure to environmental estrogens may have a detrimental effect on the reproductive health of humans and wildlife (Toppari et al 1996). Declining semen quality, sperm counts and other reproductive tract disorders in men in the last few decades have also been suggested to be associated with exposure to environmental estrogens and endocrinedisrupting compounds (Sharpe 1993, Daston et al 1997, Marques-Pinto & Carvalho 2013.…”

Adverse human reproductive outcomes and electromagnetic fields: A brief summary of the epidemiologic literature

“…Interestingly, results from studies, although involving male workers exposed to EMFs, have not observed this association [Knave et al, 1979;Irgens et al, 1997] Estrogens have been implicated in fetal development [Shepherd, 1995]. Recently, one congenital anomaly, hypospadias, has been of particular interest relative to concerns about male reproductive anomalies from exposures to xenoestrogens [Toppari et al, 1996]. This anomaly may be a good candidate to explore this melatonin±estrogen hypothesis further.…”

The non-genomic effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on mammalian sperm

“…Furthermore, a reduction in mean semen volume was also described, thereby indicating a decrease in total sperm count (Carlsen et al 1992). Subsequently, other studies have reported diminished sperm quality determined by the reduction in concentration, motility and/or normal morphology (Auger et al 1995, Toppari et al 1996 accompanied by an increasing trend in testicular cancer and abnormalities in male reproductive organs, such as criptorchidism and hypospadias (Toppari et al 1996). Although this is a controversial subject and several factors have been suggested to affect male reproductive health and fertility worldwide, both in humans and wildlife, it has been extensively argued that certain toxicants present in the environment, mainly substances that possess (anti)estrogenic-or antiandrogenic-like activities dubbed endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), may play an important role in such reproductive dysfunction.…”