title: Low-dose effects of hormones and endocrine disruptors.
abstract: Endogenous hormones have effects on tissue morphology, cell physiology, and behaviors at low doses. In fact, hormones are known to circulate in the part-per-trillion and part-per-billion concentrations, making them highly effective and potent signaling molecules. Many endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) mimic hormones, yet there is strong debate over whether these chemicals can also have effects at low doses. In the 1990s, scientists proposed the "low-dose hypothesis," which postulated that EDCs affect humans and animals at environmentally relevant doses. This chapter focuses on data that support and refute the low-dose hypothesis. A case study examining the highly controversial example of bisphenol A and its low-dose effects on the prostate is examined through the lens of endocrinology. Finally, the chapter concludes with a discussion of factors that can influence the ability of a study to detect and interpret low-dose effects appropriately.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts - Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA. Electronic address: lvandenberg@schoolph.umass.edu.
authors.forename: Laura N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Vandenberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D035843:Biomedical Research; D054750:Ecotoxicology / Q000379:methods; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000633:toxicity*; D004702:Endocrine Glands / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D004700:Endocrine System Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D006728:Hormones / Q000819:agonists* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design
chemical_list: D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006728:Hormones
keywords: Adverse effect; Chemical mixture; Epidemiology; Estrogen; Guideline study; Intrauterine position; NOAEL; Nonmonotonic dose response; Risk assessment; Xenoestrogen