A recently published scientific study has identified a connection between elevated levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in pregnant women and the birth of children with autism.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a polycarbonate used in the production of clear plastics, mainly reusable water bottles and baby bottles.
BPA is quite toxic to the human body, so workers handling it are required to wear protective masks, clothing, and gloves. Since 2010, the substance has raised increasing concern among researchers, and baby bottles containing BPA were immediately banned in Europe.
Several studies have since been conducted on the effects of BPA on rats, showing that the substance can induce pre-cancerous conditions, worsen sperm quality, cause sexual disorders, and various anxieties in rodents.
Some directly refer to BPA as a “gender-altering substance” and believe it is responsible for the rise in people with sexual deviations (transsexuals, gays, lesbians, etc.) in recent decades.
A recently published study conducted in Australia has unexpectedly revealed a link between BPA and the development of autism in children.
Autism is a disorder arising from the disruption of brain development and primarily affects social interaction. Autistic individuals can be extremely gifted (savant syndrome), but this is very rare. Autism is more commonly observed in males.
Depending on the severity of the syndrome, autistic individuals can range from being quite functional with “some quirks” to being completely non-responsive to the external world. They may experience uncontrollable outbursts of aggression and often struggle to understand what is expected of them and how to respond, as they cannot accurately recognize emotions.
In recent decades, the number of children born with autism has steadily increased, and society is unsure why this is happening and how to respond. Some believe that autism has always existed but has only recently been properly recognized. Others are convinced that external factors influence the birth of children with autistic disorders.
Australian researchers have tracked around 600 infants since 2010, starting from when they were still in their mothers’ wombs. Specifically, they analyzed the urine of pregnant women.
The study found that pregnant women with elevated BPA levels in their urine had a threefold higher incidence of boys showing signs of autism.
Simultaneously, scientists conducted research on mice, which demonstrated that BPA has a destructive effect on brain development.
“BPA can disrupt the hormonally controlled development of the male fetal brain in several ways, including suppressing the key enzyme aromatase, which regulates neurohormones and is especially important for the development of the male fetal brain,” says Dr. Ann-Louise Ponsonby from the research team.
Aromatase helps convert nervous androgens (male sex hormones in the brain) into nervous estrogens. These estrogens help all people, regardless of sex, regulate brain inflammation, maintain synaptic flexibility (which aids neuron interaction throughout the nervous system), and control cholesterol levels.
Boys born to mothers with elevated BPA levels in their urine showed reduced aromatase activity, and by age 2, they exhibited signs of autism 3.5 times more frequently.
“We found that BPA inhibits the aromatase enzyme and is associated with anatomical, neurological, and behavioral changes,” said biochemist Wa Chin Bunn, another author of the study.
“It seems to be part of the autism puzzle,” says Dr. Ponsonby.
The study was published two days ago in Nature Communications.
