Medical Bulletin 19/December/2023

Here are the top medical news of the day:

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in menstrual products

The average menstruator will use over 11,000 tampons or sanitary pads in their lifetime. Vaginal and vulvar tissue that touch pads and tampons is highly permeable. Through this permeable tissue chemicals are absorbed without being metabolized, which makes endocrine-disrupting chemicals potentially dangerous when found in menstrual products.

A new systematic review furthers our understanding of the amount of potentially harmful chemicals in menstrual-related products. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can interfere with human hormones and cause medical issues.

The study found that menstrual products contain a variety of endocrine-disrupting chemicals including phthalates, volatile organic compounds, parabens, environmental phenols, fragrance chemicals, dioxins and dioxin-like compounds.

Reference: Joanna Marroquin, Marianthi‐Anna Kiomourtzoglou, Alexandra Scranton, Anna Z. Pollack. Chemicals in menstrual products: A systematic review. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 2023; DOI: 10.1111/1471-0528.17668

Outsize benefit seen in trial of drug for kidney disease

In a clinical trial of patients with chronic kidney disease, an experimental drug significantly reduced albuminuria — albumin in urine, a sign of kidney damage — for 50% of participants. When the experimental drug was paired with a standard-care medication, 70% of participants reportedly experienced a significant reduction in albuminuria.

The findings are published today in The Lancet. The paper’s lead author is Dr. Katherine Tuttle, a clinical professor of nephrology at the University of Washington School of Medicine and executive director for research at Providence Inland Northwest Health in Spokane.

Reference: Outsize benefit seen in trial of drug for kidney disease; The Lancet, DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02408-X

Study shows exposure to household chemicals can lower odds of getting pregnant

Exposure to phthalates, a group of plasticizing and solvent chemicals found in many household products, was linked to a lower probability of getting pregnant, but not to pregnancy loss, according to research by a University of Massachusetts Amherst environmental and reproductive epidemiologist.

The study, published this week in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, also noted an association between preconception exposure to phthalates and changes in women’s reproductive hormones, as well as increased inflammation and oxidative stress.

Reference: Study shows exposure to household chemicals can lower odds of getting pregnant; Environmental Health Perspectives, DOI:10.1289/EHP12287