14 DAY TRIAL // An international team of researchers, including scientists from the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS), was able to discover in a new study that early-life exposure to bisphenol A and other type of environmental endocrine disruptors can lead to an increased incidence in heart valve defects for newborns and fetuses.
The fact that bisphenol A causes extensive damage on the human body has been well established in several other researchers. Children are more at risk than adults, especially while they are still in the womb. The new study has shown that researchers until now had no idea about the true extent of the damages this chemical can cause on the developing body.
In a study conducted on zebrafish, scientists found that early exposure to bisphenol A led to embryonic development issues, especially when it came to the correct differentiation and evolution of heart valves. Details of the study were published in the latest issue of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
CIS scientists Daniel Gorelick and Marnie Halpern say that the actions of bisphenol A mimic those of estrogen and similar hormones in the human body. This can have disrupting effects early on in life. The study again shows that women in the latest stages of pregnancy need to limit their exposure to bisphenol A by as much as possible.