Filed under: News
Jan 14, 2009 Yanagisawa R, H Takano, K Inoue, E Koike, K Sadakane and T Ichinose. 2008. Effects of maternal exposure to di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate during fetal and/or neonatal periods on atopic dermatitis in male offspring. Environmental Health Perspectives 116:1136–1141.
Synopsis by Benson T. Akingbemi
Newborn male mice exposed to a common phthalate plasticizer (DEHP) through their mothers developed more severe allergic skin reactions to allergens than unexposed mice.
Research with mice reveals that the phthalate DEHP can increase the severity of allergic reactions in young animals when they are exposed neonatally to the contaminant via their mother’s milk.
Rates of allergic skin conditions — called dermitits — are increasing in people. Generally, the skin becomes swollen, red and itchy after being exposed to an allergen. These new results may shed light on one of the drivers of this trend.
This study suggests that environmental chemicals like DEHP may increase the potency of reactions to allergens and thereby play a role in the development and/or enhancement of allergic diseases. According to the authors: “Our results support the novel hypothesis that maternal exposure to DEHP during neonatal periods via breast milk and/or infant formula may be responsible, at least in part, for the recent increase in atopic dermatitis in offspring.”
Read further at http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/phthalte-exposure-raises-skin-allergies-in-mice/
1 Comment so far
Leave a comment
[...] Phthalates Worsen Skin Allergies Newborn male mice exposed to a common phthalate plasticizer (DEHP) through their mothers developed [...]
Pingback by Allergy Help January 25, 2009 @ 2:59 pm