EESA10H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Endocrine Disruptor, Miscarriage, Sucker Free
13 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
Human body consists of endocrine glands which produces hormones (important for regulating many functions); they are very specific in what they do. Some chemicals are able to mimic (because of similar chemical structure) hormones; our body system will not be able to tell the difference between hormones and chemicals. These chemicals disrupt the normal functioning of the hormones and metabolism. As a result of these disruptions, there can be numerous health problems. These chemicals are called endocrine disruptors because they disrupt the normal functioning of the hormones. Very little is known about these chemicals from human research; data is mostly from animal studies. Endocrine disrupters have both an indirect effect and a direct effect. Direct effect: every hormone is bound by a protein which is its receptor. Since the receptor recognizes hormone, the receptor will also recognize the chemical and will carry it forward just as it would with a protein.
