Taiwan Food Scandal that feminized boys

[Jumbo Reverse Shrimp]

"Phytoestrogens can also manipulate steroid biosynthesis and transport by, for example, stimulating hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) synthesis in liver cells [5], and competitively displacing either 17β-estradiol or testosterone from plasma SHBG [53]. This subtle deflection of the quantity or availability of SHBG by phytoestrogens changes the free fraction of endogenous hormones in circulation, either systemically or locally. Phytoestrogens can also manipulate endogenous hormone levels by interfering with the enzymes needed for steroid biosynthesis. Coumestrol, for example, attenuates the conversion of [3H]-estrone to [3H]-estradiol in vitro by inhibiting the enzyme 17β-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase Type 1 in a dose-dependent fashion [79]. Genistein, though weaker, has a similar dose-dependent inhibitory effect. Disruption of aromatase [289,211,42] and 5α-reductase [70] by a number of phytoestrogens has also been demonstrated in vitro.

. . .

"In a 2008 clinical case report, physicians at SUNY Downstate Medical Center treated three women (aged 35–56) for a similar suite of symptoms including abnormal uterine bleeding, endometrial pathology and dysmenorrhea. In all three cases, symptoms ameliorated after soy intake was reduced or eliminated, demonstrating that consumption of particularly high isoflavone levels can compromise female reproductive health [38]. The youngest of the three had been on a soy-rich diet since age 14 and was experiencing secondary infertility, a condition that resolved and resulted in a pregnancy once she reduced her soy consumption. Isoflavone intake was not quantified, but estimated to exceed 40 g per day in the oldest of the three patients. It remains to be determined if these cases are atypical or sentinels of a legitimate public health concern. Because soy consumption is increasing so rapidly, and so many products now contain soy, along with its isoflavones and other phytoestrogens, this possibility clearly warrants greater attention.

. . .

"There is a surprising paucity of data on the developmental effects of phytoestrogens in males (reviewed in 2009) [37]. To date, no data on the long term consequences of gestation-only exposure are currently available. There was a large multi-generational study conducted in rats exposed to genistein through the diet throughout the lifetime of the animal [55]. The dose range finding portion of this study exposed rats to genistein in the diet starting on gestational day 7 and through lactation until weaning and then in the diet until postnatal day 50 (adulthood). The doses used in that study were approximately 0.3, 1.7, 6.4, 16, 38, and 72 mg/kg to the dam and 0.6, 3, 11, 29, 69, and 166 mg/kg to the pups after weaning. In addition to females developing ductal/alveolar hyperplasia in the mammary gland, males in this study developed mammary gland hypertrophy at doses at or above 11 mg/kg and mammary gland hyperplasia at doses at or above 29 mg/kg. Males in this study had reduced prostate weight following the highest dose. There were very few additional effects on the male reproductive tract in this study. However, studies examining the actual dose of the chemical that entered circulation revealed that there was very minimal exposure to the neonates through lactation so the male rats were exposed primarily prenatally and in adulthood but not during the neonatal period [62]. More studies should be conducted to determine potential adverse effects in males during critical periods of development, particularly during neonatal life. A pair of studies that have had a profound impact on the field, and greatly contributed to health advisories in Europe was conducted in marmosets. Twins were fed either soy formula or milk formula. Males on the soy diet had lower serum testosterone concentrations and higher numbers of Leydig cells at the discontinuation of soy formula use. As adults, the soy fed marmoset had larger testes and lower serum testosterone levels than its twin demonstrating that the impacts were persistent [271,253].

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3074428/

Long, creepy article.