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"Early results from a larger, ongoing study led by environmental health scientist Richard Pilsner at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggest that phthalate levels in expectant fathers have an effect on couples' reproductive success via epigenetic modifications of sperm DNA.
Details appear in the current issue of Human Reproduction, a monthly journal of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology published by Oxford Journals.
Phthalates are compounds found in plastics and personal care products such as shaving cream, and are estimated to be detectable in nearly 100 percent of the U.S. population. Exposure is known to disrupt some hormones and is associated in human studies with changes in such male reproductive measures as semen quality and androgen levels, Pilsner says.
The authors believe theirs is among the first human studies to investigate the influence of phthalate exposure on sperm epigenetics, embryo development and whether DNA methylation in sperm cells may be a path by which a father's environmental exposure influences these endpoints. DNA methylation, one mechanism of epigenetics, is a chemical tag on DNA that does not change the gene sequence but is involved in controlling gene expression.
Pilsner explains, "There has always been this heavy concern in the past with expectant moms not smoking and not drinking, for example, to protect the fetus. In this study, we see that dad's environmental health contributes to reproductive success. For sperm to mature is a 72-day process, almost three months, and our study shows that this preconception time-period may represent an important developmental window by which environmental exposures may influence sperm epigenetics, and in turn, early life development. So in the same way mom needs to be careful, dad also needs to..."
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