Lead author Shanna H. Swan Ph.D professor of Obstetricts and Gynecology, director of the URMC Center for Reproductive Epidemiology, and expert in phthalates said, “Because testosterone produces the masculine brain, researchers are concerned that fetal exposure to anti-androgens such as phthalates – which are pervasive in the environment – has the potential to alter masculine brain development”.

Previous findings also showed that phthalates altered male genital development.

Food packaged, stored or cooked in plastic is a major source of exposure for humans.  Phthalates are used to soften plastic, soaps, shampoos, lotions, vinyl and many other household products.   You can find more information on phthalates at Wikipedia

Another study published in February 2008 also found “Babies Recently Treated With Lotion, Shampoo, And Powder More Likely To Have Phthalates Chemicals In Urine“.

And the recent study can be found here http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116085040.htm

Researchers in Sweden made an accidental discovery finding that children who live in homes with vinyl floors are more likely to have autism. Vinyl floors can emit chemicals named phthalates, and what makes this so interesting is that phthalates are known to interfere with the production of testosterone. Phthalates are commonly used in a wide range of products like plastics, many others even food and most people including infants are exposed to phthalates through lotions and shampoos etc.<

An eight year study previously published also linked high levels of testosterone in the womb to autism, completing the circle of dots;

autism – vinyl floors – phthalates – testosterone – autism

The study associated four environmental factors with autism.
vinyl flooring,
maternal smoking
family economic problems
condensation on windows

The latter two factors have underlying issues such as studies finding that families with lower income are also more inclined to eat fast food, indicating nutritional issues and possibly food additives containing hormone disrupters.

The condensation on windows indicate poor ventilation in the house and most likely higher quantities of volatile gasses from flooring and other household chemicals, second/third hand smoke etc. are breathed in.

Most people see the environment as a weather problem, but as devastating a problem as rising sea levels and changing weather patterns are, what is being grossly overlooked is the anguish of health and mental problems our polluted environment is causing our children.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=link-between-autism-and-vinyl”

Bruce S. McEwen from Rockefeller University says, “Medicine is clueless as to how males and females really differ from one another …they tend to think it always works the same way in both sexes. That can be dangerous.”

In his article “The end of sex as we once knew it” published in the Journal Physiology and Behavior in December 2008, McEwen writes about differences between the sexes and also the role hormones play in the brain. McEwen and his colleagues have identified receptors for hormones like estrogen and others in the brain. The hormone reacts indirectly on genes and now raises the question on how this interaction influences the development and function of the human brain.

This is a very important breakthrough, as for a long time since the 1960’s scientists believed that hormones do not enter the brain and since then this viewpoint on hormones have been slow to progress past that of the necessity for reproduction.

It is important that we consider what this means for a pregnant women and her baby. It is well known that hormones play a very important role in the development of the baby’s organs, but it is not so well known that hormones play a critical role in the development of the baby’s brain. A mother’s ability to maintain homeostasis (when hormones are totally in balance within the body) can help her baby increases the development of his brain.

This connection between the brain and hormones also brings us to a major global problem, pollution. Our environment is full of toxins that contain hormone disrupters (agents that mimic the hormones estrogen (BPA) and block testosterone action (Phthalates)) and inadvertently we are exposing our babies to these hormone disrupters that interfere with the development of a baby’s brain.

There are studies that found the possibility that a mother’s diet can protect against the negative effects of BPA. If you are thinking of falling pregnant or are already pregnant make sure you eat a nutritious balanced diet to help protect your baby from a harmful environment.

You can expect awareness of the influence of hormones on the brain, to increase drastically in the next decade and I sincerely hope this awareness will lead to an increased effort to clean up our environment.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090203134455.htm

Anti androgens are contained in medicines (some cancer treatments), pharmaceutical treatments and pesticides. Previous research has shown oestrogen mimics lead to feminizing of male fish even leading to some changing sex. But the link between human testicular dysgenesis and environmental toxins could not previously be established because testicular dysgenesis is caused by exposure to anti-androgens not oestrogen mimics.

Researchers will now try to find out where these chemicals are coming from.