During recent years, numerous newspaper and magazine articles have suggested that humans may be at risk because small amounts of well known environmental contaminants, such as dioxin, PCBs and DDT, can affect hormone levels. Hormones are produced by the endocrine system as regulators of biological function in target organs. Because hormones play a critical role in early development, toxicological effects on the endocrine system often have an impact on the reproductive system. The term endocrine …showed first 75 words of 1713 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1713 total…performance in population exposed to pesticides in cotton fields in India. Environment research 55:123-128. Saxena, M. C., Siddiqui, K.J., Agarwal, Vinita and D. Kuuty. 1983. A comparison of organochlorine insecticide contents in specimens of maternal blood, placenta, and umbilical-cord blood from stillborn and live-born cases. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health: II: 7 1 - 79. Sharpe, Richard M. and Niels Skakkebaek. 1993. Are oestrogens involved in falling sperm counts and disorders of the male reproductive tract? Lancet 341:1392-1995.