Testicular dysgenesis syndrome: an increasingly common developmental disorder with environmental aspects: Opinion

Abstract

Numerous reports have recently focused on various aspects of adverse trends in male reproductive health, such as the rising incidence of testicular cancer; low and probably declining semen quality; high and possibly increasing frequencies of undescended testis and hypospadias; and an apparently growing demand for assisted reproduction. Due to specialization in medicine and different ages at presentation of symptoms, reproductive problems used to be analysed separately by various professional groups, e.g. paediatric endocrinologists, urologists, andrologists and oncologists. This article summarizes existing evidence supporting a new concept that poor semen quality, testis cancer, undescended testis and hypospadias are symptoms of one underlying entity, the testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS), which may be increasingly common due to adverse environmental influences. Experimental and epidemiological studies suggest that TDS is a result of disruption of embryonal programming and gonadal development during fetal life. Therefore, we recommend that future epidemiological studies on trends in male reproductive health should not focus on one symptom only, but be more comprehensive and take all aspects of TDS into account. Otherwise, important biological information may be lost.

Widely Used Pesticides with Previously Unknown Endocrine Activity Revealed as in Vitro Antiandrogens

“…This is significant because male fertility is thought to be declining in many countries (Andersson et al 2008), and perinatal hypospadias/cryptorchidism are risk factors for reduced sperm quality and testicular cancer in adulthood (Skakkebaek et al 2001). Banned persistent organochlorines [p,p´-DDT (1,1,1-trichloro-2-[o-chlorophenyl]-2,2-[pchlorophenyl]ethane), p,p´-DDE (p,p´-1,1-bis-(4-chlorophenyl)-2,2-dichloroethene), β-hexachloro cyclo hexane, hexachloro benzene, α-endosulfan, cis-heptachloro epoxide, oxychlordane, dieldrin] were detected in all samples of breast milk in a case-control study of mothers in Denmark and Finland.…”

“…The term "testicular dysgenesis syndrome" (TDS) has been proposed to explain the inter related nature of these abnormalities (Skakkebaek et al 2001). It is conceivable that estrogenic and/or anti androgenic contaminants play a role in TDS.…”

Late-life effects on rat reproductive system after developmental exposure to mixtures of endocrine disrupters

“…Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) during development is suggested to contribute to a rise in various types of reproductive problems in humans (Skakkebaek et al 2001, Crain et al 2008. It is generally accepted that a lag between the time of exposure to EDCs and the manifestation of a disorder can occur (DiamantiKandarakis et al 2009), and in experimental animals adverse reproductive effects after developmental exposure to mixtures of environmental EDCs have been observed both shortly after birth, in puberty, and in young adulthood (Hass et al 2007, Christiansen et al 2012.…”

Elucidating human male germ cell development by studying germ cell cancer

“…In Western countries, human sperm count is steadily declining, while the incidence of testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS), involving testicular cancer, cryptorchidism and hypospadias, is risingboth indications might be explained by the exposure to hormonally active substances found in our environment (Jensen et al 1995, Nilsson 2000, Skakkebaek et al 2001, Nohynek et al 2013, Hauser et al 2015. Endocrine disruptors (EDs), i.e.…”