Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and the Offsprings: Prenatal Exposure

Abstract

Over the last 10 decades, the changes in normal environmental conditions, directly or indirectly connected to the presence of several chemical substances released in various ways and means, for many territories, throughout the planet, have become extremely evident, as well as the relative consequences assessed, which involve numerous international working groups. Starting from territorial pollution and known environmental disasters, the World Health Organization, Food and Drug Administration, European Food Safety Authority, European Commission, other international regulatory agencies, scientific societies, and research groups had proposed, through milestone epochs, the methods of study and monitoring of environmentally harmful molecules capable of interfering with the endocrine system, in wildlife, laboratory animals, and humans. Moreover, attention was focused on endocrine functions related to reproductive health and on mechanisms of interaction, during gestation, between fetus, mother, and placenta, in order to bridge the gap of the lack of knowledge in this global theme.