The heritable legacy of diethylstilbestrol: a bellwether for endocrine disruption in humans

Abstract

Millions of women and their fetuses were exposed to the toxic pregnancy drug diethylstilbestrol (DES) from the 1940s into the 1970s, a time when the medical profession had little knowledge about potential developmental consequences of fetal drug exposures. Pathological consequences of DES exposure to the pregnant mothers and their offspring are well documented, but now generational research is finding that the grandchildren of women given DES in pregnancy are also at risk. This commentary summarizes presentations on this subject from the Beyond Genes panel “Heritable Impacts of Diethylstilbestrol (DES).”

A preliminary report on the association between maternal serum organophosphate ester concentrations and gestational diabetes mellitus

“…Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as an impairment in glucose tolerance that occurs or is first detected during gestation and may not disappear after delivery [ 16 ]. Thus, pregnancy may be a sensitive window for endocrine disruption [ 17 ]. Many other conditions, including GDM and preeclampsia, can develop during this period [ 18 ].…”