Banned Flame Retardant Leads To Birth Defects In Children In USA

Banned Flame Retardant Leads to Birth Defects in Children in USA

Developmental defects have been found in children who have not come into direct contact with a banned flame retardant. Damage to the DNA of the fathers' sperm was the cause of the violations.

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The fire retardant material (fire retardant), which was in mass production, damaged sperm DNA. Its effects proved to be harmful not only for people who were exposed to it directly, but also for their children born years later.

The study, which demonstrated the teratogenic effects of the already banned polybrominated biphenyl 153 (PBP153, trade name FireMaster), was published in Scientific Reports by scientists at the University of Georgia.

Scientists estimate that in 1973, approximately 6.5 million Michigan residents were exposed to PBP153. This happened when this substance was mistakenly sent to farms and ended up in food.

People who were exposed to PBP-153 later suffered from headaches, dizziness, joint pain, and some types of cancer. It was unexpected that the children of these people also had congenital health problems. Boys were often diagnosed with hernias, testicular lumps were found, and girls were at increased risk of miscarriages and stillbirths. Scientists point out that the pathologies described in children are due to endocrine disorders.

The new study shows for the first time how exposure to toxic substances can affect children's health by damaging sperm DNA. Previously, such studies only concerned oocytes.

For scientific work, scientists used cellular models of spermatogenesis (sperm formation). They analyzed the condition of people who were exposed to PBP153 and created a model of its effect on germ cells in the laboratory.

It turned out that PBP153 changes the expression of some sperm genes: certain genes became more active, more proteins were synthesized from them. These genes play a role in the development of the embryo, the formation of organs and body parts.

“PBP153 causes changes in sperm DNA that affect how genes are turned on and off. PBF153 appears to turn on genes that should be turned off,”said Katherine Greeson, author of the study.

Scientists expect that the methods they have applied will help in the future to learn more about the effects of various environmental toxins on the body.