Advisory Committee on Health Effects of Endocrine Disruptors
The Supplement II to the Intermediary Report
1.3.3

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3 Proposed subjects for future investigations

Studies on endocrine disruptors in Japan has, though its relatively short history, have produced results, which were published in Health and Labor Research reports and attracted attention internationally. On the other hand, the endocrine disruptor problem has yet much to be elucidated, notwithstanding remarkable advances in test methods and risk assessment, because many fundamental issues are not well understood. They must remain the focus of studies in future.
The following research subjects are considered to be the most important among such problems.

(1) Highly sensitive stages of the development: fetal, neonatal and adolescent
The morphogenetically important fetal period, which precedes stabilization of biological functions, is reported to be susceptible to significant irreversible phenomena^48,49. The adolescent period, in which sexual homeostasis is unstable, also deserves more attention4, although not mentioned in Global Assessment. Evaluation criteria for the effects of exposure during the critical periods are still indefinite. For example, the possibility of premature aging is not yet confirmed, nor is its risk adequately formulated, although animal experiments show that premature aging increases various types of epigenetic carcinogenicity or accelerate carcinogenesis.
　

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