At MassTortDefense we know the importance of well done scientific studies on causation, whether they be epidemiological studies of relevant populations, in vitro studies, or animal toxicology. While we don’t make a habit of posting about individual studies, BPA has been so much in the news, we thought it worth a mention of a recent animal study just published in the journal Toxicological Sciences. Tyl, et al., Two-Generation Reproductive Toxicity Study of Dietary Bisphenol A (BPA) in CD-1 (Swiss) Mice, with an abstract that can be found here.  Toxicological Sciences is the official journal of the Society of Toxicology and publishes peer-reviewed, hypothesis-driven, original research articles in all areas of toxicology.

The two-generation study exposed mice to a wide range of doses of bisphenol A, and found the chemical did not cause reproductive or developmental harm. The study was funded by the American Chemistry Council, and conducted under the oversight of the EU Bisphenol A Steering Group. That group, which included reproductive and developmental toxicologists from several countries, also had representatives of the World Wildlife Fund on behalf of nongovernmental organizations. The group impacted the study’s design and the specific protocols used, and commented on the draft report analyzing the results.

The study was designed to fill in some of the blanks some felt existed in previous animal studies, by utilizing a species of mice particularly sensitive to hormone disruption; exposing the mice to the low doses where some say reproductive and developmental harm would occur; exposing the mice to the chemical in their feed, to mimic route of exposure; and keeping more of the mice alive longer than is typically done.

Clearly the debate over BPA will continue.