Private MD News

Bisphenol A exposure linked to increased risk of allergic asthma

Category: Allergy Testing

Recent laboratory tests have unearthed yet another possible negative health effect of Bisphenol A(BPA), a chemical commonly found in polycarbonate plastic water bottles and food containers. Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have found that a mother's exposure to the controversial chemical may be associated with an increased risk of her offspring developing allergic asthma.

BPA exposure has also been linked to reproductive disorders, abnormal brain development, obesity as well as breast and prostate cancer.

In the study, using a well established mouse model for asthma, the researchers found that the offspring of female mice who were exposed to the chemical showed significantly more signs of the disorder compared to mice guarded from BPA exposure.

"What we were looking for is the asthma response to a challenge, something like what might happen if you had asthma and got pollen in your nose or lungs, you might have an asthma attack," said Randall Goldblum, the study's co-author. "All four of our indicators of asthma response showed up in the BPA group, much more so than in the pups of the nonexposed mice."

The researchers noted that additional research needs to be conducted to validate the findings in humans.