Research published in Endocrinology identifies certain chemicals, such as musk ambrette found in personal care products, that may trigger early puberty in girls.
These endocrine-disrupting chemicals can activate key receptors in the brain, potentially leading to health risks like obesity and breast cancer. The study calls for cautious use of personal care products for children and emphasizes the need for further investigation.
Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Early Puberty
Girls exposed to certain endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may be more likely to start puberty early, according to new research published in Endocrinology, the flagship basic science journal of the Endocrine Society. EDCs mimic, block, or interfere with hormones in the body’s endocrine system.
There has been an alarming trend toward early puberty in girls, suggesting the influence of chemicals in our environment. Early puberty is associated with an increased risk of psychosocial problems, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and breast cancer.
Study Details and Initial Findings
“We conducted a comprehensive screen of 10,000 environmental compounds with extensive follow-up studies using human brain cells that control the reproductive axis, and our team identified several substances that may contribute to early puberty in girls,” said study author Natalie Shaw, M.D., M.M.Sc., of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in Durham, N.C.
Those substances include musk ambrette, which is a fragrance used in some detergents, perfumes, and personal care products, and a group of medications called cholinergic agonists.
Potential Impact of EDCs and Regulatory Concerns
“More research is needed to confirm our findings,” noted Shaw. “But the ability of these compounds to stimulate key receptors in the hypothalamus — the gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor [GnRHR] and the kisspeptin receptor [KISS1R] — raises the possibility that exposure may prematurely activate the reproductive axis in children.”
According to the research team, musk ambrette is potentially concerning because it can be found in personal care products, and some rat studies have suggested it can cross the blood-brain barrier. Children are less likely to encounter cholinergic agonists in their daily lives.
Canadian and European regulations restrict musk ambrette use because of its potential toxicity, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed the fragrance from its “generally recognized as safe” list. Yet it is still available on the market in some personal care products.
Research Methodology and Broader Implications
“This study suggests that, out of an abundance of caution, it is important for parents to only use personal care products for their children that are federally regulated,” Shaw said.
As part of the study, the research team screened a Tox21 10,000-compound library of licensed pharmaceuticals, environmental chemicals, and dietary supplements against a human cell line overexpressing GnRHR or KISS1R. They conducted follow-up analysis using human hypothalamic neurons and zebrafish, finding that musk ambrette increased the number of GnRH neurons and GnRH expression.
“Using human hypothalamic neurons and zebrafish provides an effective model for identifying environmental substances that stimulate the KISS1R and GnRHR,” said co-author Menghang Xia, Ph.D., from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) in Bethesda, Md., which is part of NIH. “This study was a multidisciplinary team effort, and it showed that we can efficiently reduce the time and cost of assessing environmental chemicals for their potential effects on human health.”
Reference: “Identification of Environmental Compounds That May Trigger Early Female Puberty by Activating Human GnRHR and KISS1R” by Shu Yang, Li Zhang, Kamal Khan, Jameson Travers, Ruili Huang, Vukasin M Jovanovic, Rithvik Veeramachaneni, Srilatha Sakamuru, Carlos A Tristan, Erica E Davis, Carleen Klumpp-Thomas, Kristine L Witt, Anton Simeonov, Natalie D Shaw and Menghang Xia, 10 September 2024, Endocrinology.
DOI: 10.1210/endocr/bqae103
Other study authors include: Shu Yang, Li Zhang, Jameson Travers, Ruili Huang, Vukasin Jovanovic, Rithvik Veeramacheni, Srilatha Sakamuru, Carlos Tristan, Carleen Klumpp Thomas, and Anton Simeonov of NCATS; Kamal Khan and Erica Davis of Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill.; and Kristine Witt of the NIEHS Division of Translational Toxicology.
NIEHS and NCATS funded the study.
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18 Comments
Not to doubt the study but what about children that discover orgasms at a early age and the chemicals that the body makes from that?!?
My own wife was fully sexually functional (and quite precocious) at nine with “C” cups. She was a farm girl as isolated from chemicals as one could get. She is now 54. Her sister developed normally. Sometimes it’s random.
You don’t need to be Rockets Scientists to know Eating or consuming Soaps and other chemicals will kills you. Your common sense should tell you that. My problems about this, is all over the world are doing this. Every body is doing it. When human wakes up in the Morning first thing they do is washes there Mouths with Toothbrush and Toothpaste which is chemicals. This leads to mouth and Throat cancer. They washes there body and Skin with Soaps or other chemicals. After that, they we use creme another chemicals to Rub there Skin. Which may leads to Body and Skin Cancers. They washes there Kitchen utensils everyday with Soaps or other chemicals, Human eat the residue of the soap or chemicals daily. From there plates to there Coffee Cup. This leads to different different Sickness and Deasesses. After that they washes there Clothes or Clothing with this Soaps and Chemicals, the residue of the soap or chemicals is with the clothes and your Clothing will be contacts with your body. That’s Dum. That’s is dangerous and causes skin and body cancers. We have to reduce or stop the using of all this Soaps or chemicals. If You must washes your mouth and Teeth washes them with only water. If You must washes your body and Skin washes your body with only water. If You must washes your plate and cup, washes them with only water. We have to stay away from eating Soaps and Chemicals. This soap and Chemicals are destroying our body and our DNA gradually gradually and leads to different different Sickness and Deasesses like Cancer, obesity, High blood pressure, includes blood sugar. We have to do better we must be better. Thanks. To be continued. M. Luke.
You do know that water is a chemical, right?
Did u read an article it talks about specific chemicals compounds that are going in different care products …
Agreed
I also agree. Keep it simple.
Nature of these comments indicates lack of knowledge that good science has shown the negative impact upon children beginning at fetal beginnings..all the way to maturity. Child obesity for one. Living in secondary smoke for another. Radon exposure. Lead consumption. Children born addicted. Cosmetology manufacturers like tobacco manufacturers. Pay millions to lobby for unsafe products based on greed. Early sexual maturity manifestations are the symptoms of a polluted life style. The human body was mot so designed.
Luke, almost.
There are natural additives which will kill bacteria, germs and ordors. Baking soda (yes), apple vinegar, lemon and mint. Various amounts and elbow grease cleanse body and home. Stubborn stain and grease? Sand or steel wool.
The Environment Protection Agency
When human wakes up in the morning ……? I didn’t realize there were anything else but humans on this planet waking up in the morning. So very strange putting it that way. And then continuing to talk about people as if they are not one of us but some other entity. At one point they do say me or I as if they were trying to make it look like that’s what they meant all along but I’m not convinced.
🙄
I agree that whole post was written weird like an AI or something? Very strangely worded to use the term humans when you’re supposed to be one yourself. I understand language barriers but that doesn’t seem like one
so true, AI have opinions i guess. Wierd hearing about one thinkingand posting a naive answer but another commenting a literal opinion on that post with their odd opinion that is out of context , only to show its lack of pop culture…Ai-vs- AI
They keep writing “personal care products”, like they don’t want to be specific. What do they mean?
Didn’t we already know this? Or is this just adding one compound to the known list of EDCs?
I don’t know how many young girls are using “personal care products” besides shampoo and I don’t think bathing has skyrocketed in the last 50 years. I certainly had no elaborate hygiene routine and I still got my period at 12, which is early if you consider it used to average 16 before a century or so ago. Or less. What I did do was be so “well-fed” that I reached my full height of 5’7″ by age 12 by eating the Standard American Diet. Also known as a western diet, although it includes much of the world now.
I’m sick of articles like this blaming mysterious chemicals (which ARE bad, I know) and pretending like the main cause is not the steroid-packed, estrogen-rich meat, egg, and dairy products that we consume at a much higher rate than we used to. These are largely female animals that we consume, in varying stages of pregnancy or menstruation. Even if they are “organic” what do you think will happen if you eat female animals flesh everyday when you are also a female animals yourself? The hormones are the same. Might as well inject the kids with steroids, it’s the same thing.
But no… Make sure not to spray hairspray at them. That’s what we’re supposed to focus on.
I’m 60yo women. I got my first period at 11. I was physically fit and active, ate a normal diet. I don’t believe any soap, shampoo or other body products caused me harm. The amount of obesity in society has changed since the 70s. This is the most noticeable thing. Chemicals in everything now.
Neither the authors or commenters seem to be aware of a chronic disease factor I learned of around late 2012 and write about since; phytoestrogen rich soy being mostly processed with toxic hexane with some FDA approved residue since the early 1970s, with the US female breast cancer epidemic presenting by 1979 (ACS and NCI data), minimally; (https://www.wnd.com/2006/12/39253/).
Amazing, how so many studies get funded by other departments of the US Government while the FDA continues to approve toxic food additives increasing the risk of “…psychosocial problems, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and breast cancer.” and premature mortality, minimally. Perhaps NIEHS and NCATS should spend less time and money studying potentially harmful EDCs and more time and money on already known to be harmful FDA approved food additives?