Environmental chemicals may alter the function of the endocrine system by mimicking hormone actions and either triggering or blocking a response to the body's natural hormones. The body's natural hormonal balance is necessary to maintain normal body activity. Estrogen and other hormones cause their effects by binding to receptor molecules in cell tissues like the breast, uterus, prostate, brain, and skin. Then, the receptor acts as the translator of the hormone, in this case estrogen, in the cell. Much more information is needed to understand the adverse effects of these compounds.
Endocrinology is the scientific discipline that studies hormones and the endocrine system.
Basic endocrine research is advancing our understanding of these compounds and how they can affect human health. An important area of endocrine research is the effect of the lower levels of these substances that occur in our daily life, especially in children and the elderly. For instance, contamination of food with DES, a synthetic estrogen, has been associated with premature breast development in young boys and girls. Exposure to estrogen during the sexual development has been associated with feminization of the male reproductive system in animals, and estrogens contained in plants can decrease reproduction in the wild and domestic animals that eat them. These are significant studies, because the disorders associated with developmental exposure to potent estrogens provide clues to the human health effects that may be associated with much weaker environmental estrogens.