Common BPA-like chemical, BPS, disrupts heart rhythms in females

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-06/tes-cbc062214.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 23-Jun-2014
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Contact: Aaron Lohr
alohr@endocrine.org
202-971-3654
The Endocrine Society
Common BPA-like chemical, BPS, disrupts heart rhythms in females

CHICAGO, IL—Bisphenol S (BPS), a common substitute for bisphenol A (BPA) in consumer products, may have similar toxic effects on the heart as previously reported for BPA, a new study finds. The results were presented Monday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago.

In the years since research evidence first showed many potentially damaging health effects of the industrial chemical BPA, some manufacturers have switched to its chemical cousin, BPS, to make hard plastics and other products that they call BPA free, said the study's lead investigator, Hong-Sheng Wang, PhD, from the University of Cincinnati.

Although some BPA-free products contain no bisphenols, Wang said, "BPS is one of the substitutes used in BPA-free products. There is implied safety in BPA-free products. The thing is, the BPA analogs—and BPS is one of them—have not been tested for safety in humans."

BPA is an endocrine (hormone) disrupter that can interfere with the actions of native estrogen and other hormones, but it is not clear whether BPS also is disrupts hormones.

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