Studies point at possibility of developing heart valves being affected by environmental changes

Studies to understand the effect of Bisphenol A on embryonic heart valves was done by Carnegie's Daniel Gorelick and Marnie Halpern and published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Bisphenol A is a chemical which is found in plastic containers and plastic bottles. It is said to mimic estrogens. Estrogens bind themselves to receptors inside the cell which acts on the DNA by either putting it on or off. Studies were done on specially developed zebra fish for understanding environmental endocrine disruptors from river water and also to understand which tissues were targeted by these disruptors. Results showed that estrogen receptors in the developing heart valves were activated by some water samples. This implicates the role of these chemicals which mimic estrogens on any abnormality in heart valves. What is important to note is that an early exposure to such chemicals like Bisphenol A leads to risk of cancer and abnormalities in the reproductive tract he reproductive tract