Need for establishing integrated programs to monitor endocrine active
compounds
H. Segner
Centre for Fish and Wildlife Health, University of
Bern, Post Box, CH-3001 Bern, Switzerland
Abstract: Environmental monitoring programs on endocrine active
compounds (EACs) have been used to document the level of exposure and
to assess the possible association to the occurrence of developmental
and reproductive disorders in wildlife. The establishment of causal
links between exposure and effect data, however, was found to be difficult
due to, for example, the presence of confounding factors or limited
understanding of EAC mechanisms and interactions, but also because of
conceptual and methodological limitations of current monitoring strategies.
In order to provide plausibility of an EAC etiology for a developmental
or reproductive alteration in a wildlife population, integrated monitoring
programs are needed that will use a combination of complementary approaches:
methods for a targeted search for suspected EACs in an environmental
mixture, analysis of internal EAC doses instead of external EAC concentrations,
utilization of mechanism-based end-points in bioanalytical and effect
monitoring, investigation of the basic biology and physiology of wildlife
sentinel species, laboratory replication of field effects, as well as
consideration of epidemiological and weight-of-evidence criteria in
the design and data evaluation of monitoring programs.
*Report from a SCOPE/IUPAC project: Implication of
Endocrine Active Substances for Human and Wildlife (J. Miyamoto and
J.Burger, editors). Other reports are published in this issue,
pp. 1617-2615.
Page last modified 12 February 2004.
Copyright © 2004 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
Questions or comments about IUPAC, please contact, the Secretariat.
Questions regarding the website, please contact web
manager.