MUSCULOSKELETAL ANOMALIES IN THE SECOND AND THIRD GENERATIONS OF CHILDREN AFTER IN UTERO EXPOSURE TO XENOHORMONES AS ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR CHEMICALS

Marie-Odile Soyer-Gobillard*, Laura Gaspari-Sultan, Charles Sultan

Diethylstilbestrol (DES) and ethinyl estradiol (EE), xenohormones with potent estrogenic properties, were synthesized in 1938; their use in pregnant women was subsequently banned between 1971 and 1982 for the former and in 1980 for the latter. In addition, progestins (delay or not) were frequently used with DES and/or EE and have since served as replacement compounds. In the present work, based on data from a retrospective French cohort of patients whose mothers (first generation) were treated with DES, EE and/or synthetic progestins during pregnancy, we highlight the presence of congenital malformations, particularly of the musculoskeletal system, in second (directly exposed in utero) and third-generation girls and boys. The analyzed data were from 17 families and included 30 second-generation children (20 girls and 10 boys who were prenatally exposed) and 31 third-generation grandchildren (7 girls and 24 boys). Some of the mothers (second generation) of third-generation grandchildren received hormonal treatment (progestins) to promote fertility or for in vitro fertilization procedures. The mechanisms involved in the teratogenic effects of these endocrine disruptors are discussed. As the descendants of women treated with DES represent more than 50 million people worldwide, the exposure to exogen sex hormones and other widespread endocrine disruptor chemicals might negatively affect the life of hundreds of millions of people worldwide.