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Umweltgifte und ihre hormonelle Wirkung

Environmental toxins and their hormonal effect

Zusammenfassung

In den letzten Jahrzehnten nimmt die Belastung des Menschen durch chemische Substanzen mit endokriner Wirkung zu. Der Körper nimmt diese Stoffe aus der Luft, dem Wasser, durch unsere Nahrung oder über Körperpflegeartikel auf. Dabei sind konkrete Veränderungen im Organismus zunehmend nachweisbar. Die Folgen, besonders die Langzeitfolgen, sind jedoch noch nicht absehbar. Eine direkte hormonelle Wirkung wird nur bestimmten Stoffen zugeschrieben, die aber im Gegensatz zu herkömmlichen Giften in ihrer Wirkweise deutlich komplexer sind und über die Effekte auf die Keimzellbahn sowohl in der empfindlichen fetalen und neonatalen Periode als auch in nachfolgenden Generationen wirken können. Hier sind besonders Phthalate und Bisphenol A zu nennen. Der Nachweis spezifischer hormoneller Störungen für einzelne Substanzen erscheint überschaubar, die Interaktion der verschiedenen Substanzen ist jedoch nur unzulänglich analysiert und auch nur schwer messbar. Der Beitrag gibt eine Übersicht der bekanntesten Substanzgruppen mit endokriner Wirkung, ihrer individuellen Wirkweise, ihres Vorkommens und einiger bisher nachgewiesener Effekte im Tierversuch und beim Menschen mit einem Fokus auf weibliche reproduktive Organe und Erkrankungen.

Abstract

The contamination of humans by chemical substances that have endocrine effects (endocrine disruptors) has increased during the last decades. Humans absorb these substances from the environment (air, water, food and personal care products) leading to increasingly measurable changes; however, the sequelae, particularly the long-term effects are not clearly foreseeable. Endocrine disruptors are a group of toxins with a more complex mechanism of action and their effects on germ cells not only affect the sensitive fetal and neonatal periods but also the developing adult and possibly also subsequent generations. In this context phthalates and bisphenol A have been particularly incriminated. One of the dangers in measuring concentrations and effects of endocrine disruptors is that similar to natural hormones, they do not follow a classical dose-response curve, which makes interactions of different substances and their effects even more difficult to analyze and understand. This article gives an overview of the most common endocrine disruptors as well as some of their known effects in animals and humans with a focus on female reproductive organs and diseases.

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Correspondence to Roxana M. Popovici.

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R. M. Popovici und B. Sonntag geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht.

Für diesen Beitrag wurden von den Autoren keine Studien an Menschen oder Tieren durchgeführt. Für die aufgeführten Studien gelten die jeweils dort angegebenen ethischen Richtlinien.

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B. Sonntag, Hamburg

G. Emons, Göttingen

Aktualisierte Version der Originalpublikation von Popovici, R (2015) Endokrin wirkende Umweltgifte. Gynäkologische Endokrinologie 13:168–174. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10304-015-0020-8.

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Popovici, R.M., Sonntag, B. Umweltgifte und ihre hormonelle Wirkung. Gynäkologe 54, 246–252 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00129-020-04741-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00129-020-04741-w

Schlüsselwörter

  • Endokrine Disruptoren
  • Pestizide
  • Dioxine
  • Bisphenol A
  • Phthalate

Keywords

  • Endocrine disruptors
  • Pesticides
  • Dioxins
  • Bisphenol
  • Phthalates