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Collaborative on Health and the Environment's
Fertility/Reproductive Health Working Group
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| E-Bulletin August 7, 2009 |
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| This new e-bulletin lists news and journal articles, organizational reports, calls for proposals, upcoming events and other items related to fertility, reproductive health and the environment. E-bulletins will be archived and searchable on our website: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/working_groups/fertility |
CHE-Fertility Highlights
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New Monthly CHE-Fertility E-Bulletins
This e-bulletin is a new exciting feature that CHE-Fertility will be sending out once a month. In addition to recent news and emerging science, the bulletins will feature job openings, calls for proposal, upcoming events and other items of interest. Feedback on bulletin content is welcome. Please email julia@healthandenvironment.org with comments.
CHE Blogs for the American Fertility AssociationHeather Sarantis, Women's Health Program Manager at Commonweal, has recently started blogging for the American Fertility Association on environmental reproductive health issues. Her first entry was on Kristof's hormone disruptor columns and can be found at: http://www.theafa.org/community/blog. For questions or comments, email Heather at heather@healthandenvironment.org. See below for more information about Kristof's columns.
Fill Out the CHE-Fertility Online Survey
If you can spare a few minutes, please fill out this survey regarding the CHE-Fertility Working Group. By doing so, you will help shape CHE-Fertility call topics for the next year, in addition to providing valuable input about other aspects of the group. We will use this information to design future teleconferences and programs around your interests! Please fill out the survey by Wednesday, August 19.
Shaping Our Legacy is Now Available in Spanish
Shaping Our Legacy: Reproductive Health and the Environment, the comprehensive report from the 2007 UCSF-CHE Summit on Environmental Challenges to Reproductive Health and Fertility is now available in Spanish, courtesty of the UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE). Link to the report from the CHE-Fertility what's new box.
The Center for American Progress Releases "Reproductive Roulette"
This new slide show is a valuable tool that outlines declining reproductive health and dangerous chemical exposures. View the full presentation and accompanying fact sheet
New Prenatal Educational Video in the Pipeline
Vida Health Communications, Inc. is in the process of finalizing a video for prenatal providers and their patients about managing environmental risks during pregnancy. Vida is
dedicated to improving the health of women, children and families
through the production of evidence-based educational media for
clinical, patient and lay audiences. Watch the video in English or Spanish. They would like to hear any comments or criticisms you have, and are particularly interested in how you might use the video. Feel free to pass this along to others in the field. Contact John Craine, MS, MBA, Principal Investigator, Vida Health Communications, Inc. with comments: john.craine@vida-health.com.
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Media Spotlight
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Endocrine (Hormone) Disruptors in the Mainstream News
In
June, The Endocrine Society, a highly respected international medical
society
of over 14,000 members in 100 countries, issued a seminal Scientific
Statement
stating that exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals are a growing
threat to human health and well-being. The report explicitly states
that "endocrine disruptors have effects on male and female
reproduction" and that "the precautionary principle is critical to
enhancing health." The statement brings important credibility to the
field and calls on professionals and government to take action.
Two-time
Pulitzer
Prize winner and New York Times columnnist Nicholas Kristof followed up by writing two
columns and a blog for The Times about endocrine disruptors,
calling the groundbreaking report a "wake-up call." Kristof
also appeared on The Colbert Report, describing how endocrine
disruptors in the water are contributing to genital malformations in male
animals and humans. In
response, the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE)
at the University of California, San Francisco, applauded Kristof and
Colbert for covering the issue, but pointed out that Colbert's focus on oral contraceptives as the primary source of endocrine disruptors in water
was
misleading and might be used to blame women taking birth control.
In fact, PRHE writes that it has been shown in the Netherlands that wastewater treatment facilities filter out the majority of estrogen (both natural and synthetic) excreted by humans, and that synthetic estrogen used in oral contraceptives contributes only 1% of the total amount of estrogens excreted by humans. As PRHE concludes, "other sources of both natural and synthetic estrogen are [clearly] contaminating our waters."
The reality is that we do not know enough at this point about sources of hormone disruptors in the environment. We do know that endocrine disruptors come from many different sources and that we are exposed to them through a variety of ways. This is important media attention for environmental reproductive health science, and will hopefully inspire further research in this area. A number of CHE Partners have significantly contributed to both the development of The Endocrine Society report and the mainstream press surrounding it.
Download the landmark report
Read Kristof's Columns: It's Time to Learn From Frogs and
Chemicals and Our Health
Watch The Colbert Report Video
Link to PRHE's response on Kristof's blog
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Announcements
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A daily news feed with these articles and announcements is now
available on CHE's website:
http://www.healthandenvironment.org/news/announce.
Job Opening: Development Specialist, Women's Voices for the Earth, Missoula, Montana.
Monday, August 03, 2009
WVE seeks a development specialist with an excellent track record and
significant experience securing major gifts and foundation grants.
Applications will be accepted until August 28, 2009, or until the
position is filled. Read more
Job Opening: Chief Science Officer, Good Guide, San Francisco.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Good Guide is seeking a full-time chief scientific officer to help
refine and expand their methodologies for evaluating the environmental,
social and health performance of products. A PhD or MD degree is
required, with 15+ years experience in research, an internationally
recognized record in publishing, policy engagement, or industry
leadership. Read more
Call for proposals: Environmental Implications of Emerging Technologies. Fundamental
and basic research is sought to establish and understand outcomes as a
result of the implementation of new technologies such as
nanotechnology, biotechnology, and information technology. The
application closing date is September 17th. Read more
Call for proposals: Fertility Preservation Research: Advancing Beyond Technology. The
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development (NICHD) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health (NIOSH) solicit grant applications that are designed to: 1)
characterize the risks and mechanisms of gonadal damage secondary to
exposure to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or occupational or
environmental hazards, 2) elucidate more reliable biomarkers of
reproductive capacity, and 3) examine the social, legal, and ethical
ramifications of fertility preservation technologies. Letters of intent
must be received by September 21st. Read more
Call for proposals: Hazardous Materials Worker Health and Safety Training. The
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences invites
applications for cooperative agreements to support the development of
model programs for the training and education of workers engaged in
activities related to hazardous materials and waste generation,
removal, containment, transportation and emergency response. Letters of
intent must be received by October 23, 2009. Department of Health and
Human Services. Read more |
News, Science and Other Resources
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Below you will find recent news headlines, studies, and organizational reports - gleaned from the CHE Fertility Online Library hosted by Environmental Health News and the CHE daily news feed.
Fewer birds are nesting on Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.
After years of seeing hundreds of double-crested cormorant nests on the
Richmond-San Rafael bridge, researchers are raising concerns about a
precipitous drop in nesting activity and worried that the trend is a
harbinger of a worsening Bay ecosystem. Contra Costa Times, California. 6 August 2009.
Fish reproduction threatened by contamination from U.P. mines.The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality announced that
elevated levels of selenium below the tailings basin and waste rock
piles of two mines operated by Cleveland Cliffs near Marquette in the
Upper Peninsula could lead to reproductive failure in fish. Michigan Messenger, Michigan. 6 August 2009.
Men with livelier, more plentiful sperm live longer.
Healthier sperm may mean longer life, according to a study that followed more than 40,000 Danish men for up to 40 years. Reuters Health. 6 August 2009.
Massachusetts warns mothers of young children to avoid bisphenol A.
Congress to FDA: prove bisphenol A safe, or ban it.
A little-noticed portion of the landmark food safety bill could have a
big impact on the composition of consumer products, leading to the
elimination of Bisphenol A in plastics now widely used in a range of
plastic products aimed at pregnant women and young children. The Daily Green. 4 August 2009.
Chemicals can turn genes on and off; new tests needed, scientists say.
Each of us starts life with a particular set of genes, 20,000 to 25,000
of them. Now scientists are amassing a growing body of evidence that
pollutants and chemicals might be altering those genes-not by mutating
them, but by sending subtle signals that silence them or switch them on
at the wrong times. Last week a National Academies workshop examined
the evidence and implications. Environmental Health News. 3 August 2009.
A new study in Mexico finds that women with higher exposure to
phthalates during their third trimester of pregnancy were up to four
times as likely to have their babies early. This is the first human
study to investigate associations between exposure to phthalates and
preterm birth rates. Early births are of concern because they are
associated with long-term health problems and are the leading cause of
neonatal mortality in the United States, accounting for more than one
third of infant deaths. 3 August 2009. More...
Half of all the fruit & veg you buy is contaminated.
Almost half of the fresh fruit and veg sold across the UK is
contaminated with toxic pesticides, according to the latest scientific
surveys for the government. Glasgow Sunday Herald, United Kingdom. 2 August 2009.
Fish produced fewer - or no eggs at all - after only one to two
weeks of exposure to either of two different types of synthetic
progestin hormones found in women's birth control and menopausal drugs.
The more potent of the pair of progestins also lowered sperm production
and affected behavior in male fish. Effects occurred at levels found in
the environment in sewage effluents. 30 July 2009. More...
2 new studies question safety of phthalates.An endocrine disrupting chemical, DEHP, could harm the liver of
newborns, or in combination with other chemicals, disrupt normal male
sexual development. The Daily Green. 29 July 2009.
Is sunscreen safe?
Sunscreen protects us from the harmful rays of the sun. But sunscreen
also contains chemicals which can seep into the body, or seep into
water and affect aquatic life, as well as drinking water. Frederick News-Post, Maryland. 28 July 2009.
Women who are having difficulty conceiving may want to cut back on
their soy consumption after a mouse study reveals that dietary exposure
to genistein, a compound found in soy foods, can reduce the odds of a
successful pregnancy in multiple ways. The results reveal how
natural compounds like genistein may have both risks - it can act as an
endocrine disurptor to affect female reproduction - and benefits - such
as protecting the heart. 28 July 2009. More...
The herbicide atrazine lowers the production of androgen hormones in
male rats by altering the genes responsible for making them. This
is the first study to show that atrazine directly affects the genes
responsible for hormone production in testicular cells. 27 July 2009. More...
Early periods may reduce ovarian cancer survival.
Women whose menstrual periods start at a young age are less likely to
survive ovarian cancer than their peers whose periods start later, new
research shows. Similarly, women who have more menstrual cycles over
their lifetime also have worse survival. Reuters Health. 25 July 2009.
Massachusetts public health officials warned parents of young children
yesterday to avoid storing infant formula or breast milk in plastic
bottles containing bisphenol A - and urged pregnant or breast-feeding
women to avoid the common chemical in other food and drink containers. Boston Globe, Massachusetts. 4 August 2009.
Trends in disease don't always reveal environmental causes.
An increasingly convincing body of evidence has demonstrated that a
cluster of male disorders-testicular cancers, poor semen quality,
undescended testicles and hypospadias-have common origins, and that
environmental chemicals might play a role. Environmental Health News. Opinion, 24 July 2009.
A new study finds that a single tablet of an over-the-counter herbal
medicine can raise the levels of phthalates in the body by 100-fold
before being quickly eliminated. The protective layer that coats
the outside of drug capsules contains enough of a phthalate to drive
levels in those taking the drugs above the daily intake limits
designated by food regulatory agencies in Europe. 23 July 2009. More...
Kicking the habit in pregnancy better for babies.
Moms-to-be who smoke but quit early in pregnancy can sharply reduce
their risk of having a premature or too-small baby, new research in the
journal Obstetrics & Gynecology shows. Reuters Health. 22 July 2009.
Red meat and poultry: two major sources of PBDE exposure in the US.
People who eat meat and
poultry have significantly higher levels of common flame retardants
compared to vegetarians. The findings indicate that food may be a more
important source of the contaminants, known as PBDEs, than previously
thought. Environmental Health Perspectives. Wednesday, July 22, 2009.
This
presentation is a self-guided slideshow that provides data on
reproductive health and dangerous chemicals. Charts and graphs show
that reproductive health is declining as human exposure to dangerous
chemicals is rising. Center for American Progress. July 21, 2009.
Male rats reach puberty later and have skewed hormone levels after exposure to high concentrations of DEHP, a phthalate.
The researchers tested a wide range of DEHP levels in two different
strains of rats and compared when the animals from the differen test
groups hit puberty. The doses used - 10, 100, 300 and 900 milligrams
per kilogram of rat body weight - are much higher than levels measured
in people. 21 July 2009. More...
California keeps BPA off toxics list.A California science panel voted unanimously on July 15 not to add the
controversial plastics chemical bisphenol A, an endocrine disruptor, to
Proposition 65-the state's list of chemicals that are known to cause
cancer, birth defects, or reproductive harm. Chemical & Engineering News. 17 July 2009.
Chemicals heavily used in
everyday products can end up in dust and increase people's exposure to
the contaminants, reports a study by Belgium researchers who calculated
exposure to bisphenol A, an antibacterial agent and a flame retardant
through dust. Environmental Health News. Wednesday, July 15, 2009. |
Upcoming Events
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Online Calendar. These and more upcoming events are listed in the CHE-Fertility searchable calendar.
1) Training/Workshop: A Media Training Workshop with Suzanne Turner
1:00 - 4:00 p.m. on Thursday August 13 or
noon - 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 18, 2009 (choose one session)
Washington, DC
at the National Research Center for Women & Families Conference
Room, 1701 K Street NW, Suite 700 (building entrance is on 17th Street
near K Street)
Sponsor: National Research Center for Women & Families
News is shaped by PR experts, most of them highly paid to get the
message out. How can researchers, experts who care about the public
good, and nonprofit organizations that don't have big bucks make sure
that their voices are also heard? Turner Strategies has designed and
developed communications campaigns that have helped pass more than 40
pieces of legislation. Their team has worked for nonprofit
organizations as well as Fortune 500 companies, devising effective
branding and marketing campaigns. Thanks to their guidance,
participants in this workshop will learn strategies and useful
information that they can use to make their voices heard on important
issues. Media training usually costs hundreds of dollars per hour; this
is a great opportunity to get three hours of great training at an
affordable price. Lunch will be served.
Price: $95 per participant from 501(c)(3) organizations, $200 per
participant for all others. If you sign up after August 5, add $20.
Contact: Emily Hartman, 202-223-4000 or info@center4research.org
2) Conference/Seminar: EUROEPI 2009: Epidemiology for Clinical Medicine and Public Health
Wednesday through Saturday, August 26 - 29, 2009
Warsaw, Poland
at the Old Library, Warsaw University
Sponsor: IEA-EEF European Congress of Epidemiology
The program will cover all modern epidemiological disciplines,
including cardioepidemiology, cancer epidemiology, perinatal and
reproductive health epidemiology, infectious diseases epidemiology,
rheumatoid diseases epidemiology, neuroepidemiology, genetic
epidemiology, pharmacoepidemiology, environmental epidemiology,
occupational epidemiology, nutritional epidemiology, social
epidemiology and others.
Price: see the registration page
Visit the website
Contact: secretariat@euroepi2009.org
3) Training/Workshop: Facilitation Skills for Scientists and Resource Managers
Tuesday through Thursday, September 1 - 3, 2009
8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sacramento, California
at the Hilton Sacramento Arden West, 2200 Harvard Street
Sponsor: EOS Alliance
This course is intended to be a practical approach to improving
group meetings. It is oriented specifically to the needs of scientists
and resource managers. After core facilitation skills are practiced,
the class will be tailored to the students' development needs.
Participants will be asked to complete a pre-workshop skills profile.
Students are presented with a wide array of tools and opportunities to
practice new facilitation skills. The class includes continuing
education units.
Price: $695, or $595 for Native American tribes; government employees; nonprofits; students; and NAEP, NEBC, NWAEP members
Visit the website
Contact: Northwest Environmental Training Center, 206-762-1976
4) Conference/Seminar: A Critical Link: The Environment and Women's Health
Thursday September 10, 2009
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Burlington, Vermont
at Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center
Sponsor: Planned Parenthood of Northern New England with funding
from Seventh Generation, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center,
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, The John Merck Fund and The
Ceres Trust
In recent years there has been an increased awareness of the
connections between environmental contaminants, fertility, and health -
and a growing body of evidence supporting these concerns that link
reduced fertility to pregnancy loss, adverse birth outcomes,
reproductive tract abnormalities, learning disabilities in children,
and various cancers to environmental contaminants. It is becoming
increasingly clear to those of us who work for women's health that we
must begin to turn our attention to the environmental toxicants that
are affecting the ability of couples to become pregnant, have a healthy
pregnancy, and give birth to healthy children. At Planned Parenthood of
Northern New England, we feel a responsibility as a health-care
organization to help our patients and communities make the link between
human health and the products we put in our bodies, and in our homes
and schools. The keynote address will be given by Dr. Sandra
Steingraber.
Price: $60, students $35, $80 if CEUs are awarded.
Visit the website
Contact: see the contact page
5) Meeting: Office of Research on Women's Health Stakeholder Meeting
Monday through Wednesday, September 21 - 23, 2009
Providence, Rhode Island
at Women and Infants Hospital/Brown University
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women's Health
This is the third in a series of meetings. Proposed topics include
lifespan issues from preconception to the frail elderly. The format of
each of the regional scientific workshops is designed to promote an
interactive discussion involving women's health advocates, leading
scientists from across the nation, public policy experts, healthcare
providers, and the general public. Individuals representing the full
spectrum of academic institutions, professional associations, advocacy
organizations, or healthcare facilities interested in biomedical and
behavioral research on women's health and sex/gender issues, or
individuals wishing to present their personal opinions on these issues
are encouraged to provide both written and public testimony at each of
the regional meetings. Scientific panels and concurrent workshops will
address a wide range of topics, from the interplay of research and
health care to specific areas of research.
Price: free
Visit the website
Contact: Maureen Pearlman, Program Coordinator, 401-276-7800, ext. 123 or mpearlman@wihri.org
6) Conference: Reproductive Health 2009
Wednesday through Saturday, September 30 - October 3, 2009
Los Angeles, California
Sponsor: Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, the
Planned Parenthood Federation of America National Medical Committee,
and the Society of Family Planning
This is the fifth joint annual meeting of these three organizations
for professionals in reproductive health care. Two sessions on
reproductive health and the environment are part of the agenda.
Price: see the registration prices page
Visit the website
7) Conference/Seminar: ASRM 09
Saturday through Wednesday, October 17 - 21, 2009
Atlanta, Georgia
at the Georgia World Congress Center
Sponsor: American Society for Reproductive Medicine
With a theme of "Envisioning the Reproductive Medicine of Tomorrow",
the Program Committee has prepared a wide variety of postgraduate
courses, lectures, symposia, abstracts, roundtables, posters and videos
specifically designed to meet the educational needs of both
practitioners and scientists within the fields of reproductive medicine
and biology. Two sessions on environment and reproduction are part of
the meeting agenda. Continuing education credits are available.
Price: unknown
Visit the website
8) Conference: ISES 2009 Annual Conference
Sunday through Thursday, November 1 - 5, 2009
Minneapolis, Minnesota
at the Marriott Minneapolis City Center
Sponsor: International Society of Exposure Science
The ISES 2009 Annual Conference will bring together scientists from
a wide range of disciplines to share current research activities and to
identify critical needs for exposure science in the 21st century. The
goal of ISES is to foster and advance the science of exposure analysis
related to environmental contaminants, both for human populations and
ecosystems.
Price: unknown
Visit the website
Contact: ises09@gmail.com
9) Conference/Seminar: PPTOXII: Role of Environmental Stressors in the Development of Origins of Disease
Monday through Thursday, December 7 - 10, 2009
Miami Beach, Florida
at Loews Hotel
Sponsor: Society of Toxicology
Fetal and early postnatal development constitutes the most
vulnerable time period of human life, in regard to adverse effects of
environmental hazards. Subtle effects during development can lead to
functional deficits and increased disease risk later in life. This
hypothesis, which states that environmental exposures lead to altered
programming leading to increased susceptibility to disease/dysfunction
later in life, has gathered much support from both experimental and
epidemiological studies. The objective of the conference is to examine
the animal and human data supporting this hypothesis of a developmental
basis of disease, disease by disease, in order to review the current
state of the literature and to identify mechanisms for the effects as
well as to identify research gaps and challenges and to integrate the
basic and applied science. Because of its International nature, the
multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary nature of the speakers, and the
attendance and participation of students from multiple disciplines, we
expect this meeting to stimulate collaborations that will lead to the
development and validation of biomarkers of exposure and disease
susceptibility, improvement of exposure assessment and extrapolation
across species and routes of exposure.
Price: see the registration information on the website
Visit the website
Contact: Society of Toxicology headquarters, 703-438-3115
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The Collaborative on Health and the Environment offers this information as a service but does not endorse any of the events, articles or announcements.
Please email Julia Varshavsky, CHE's Fertility/Reproductive Health Working Group Coordinator, at julia@healthandenvironment.org with any questions, comments, or suggestions.
If you would like to join the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) and the Fertility/Reproductive Health Working Group, please complete the application on the CHE website: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/application. Joining CHE means receiving up to four email messages a month from the CHE National listserv. CHE costs nothing to join and the benefit is shared information and opportunities for further engagement, if you choose. Be sure to mark that you want to join the CHE Fertility/Reproductive Health Working Group at the bottom of the application.
Julia Varshavsky
Collaborative on Health and the Environment
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