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Exposure of mice to chlordecone, a long-time insecticide used in the West Indies, adversely affects the production of spermatozoa from several generations of males, even if they have not been exposed themselves, according to a study by the Inserm.
As with any experiment on mice, these conclusions can not automatically be applied to humans, take care to emphasize the authors of this study published in early July in the journal Scientific Reports.
"Les Researchers do not know what the actual impact of these results on the fertility of men residing in the West Indies who have been exposed to chlordecone during their prenatal life, "Inserm said in a statement issued Monday.
As part of this study, mice in early pregnancy "were exposed orally to a daily dose of chlordecone known not to induce adverse effects in this species," according to Inserm. 659003] Result: the insecticide causes in their third generation male offspring (ie the first one not directly exposed) "a decrease in the number of germinal stem cells (at the origin of the spermatozoa ), an impairment of their differentiation (process by which cells specialize, ed) and a decrease in the number of mature spermatozoa. "
" The entire germ line in males is badigned either quantitatively or qualitatively and this after two generations, "says the study leader, Fatima Smagulova, quoted in the release.
Chlorececone, a carcinogen and endocrine disrupting insecticide, banned in the United States as early as 1977, was used in the United States. West Indies from 1972 to 1993 to fight the banana weevil. Forbidden in France in 1990, it was used until 1993 by derogation from the West Indies.
It is still present in soils, where it can remain up to 600 to 700 years. It is found in certain foods of plant or animal origin, as well as in certain sources of drinking water.
"The levels of environmental exposure to chlordecone that people are currently facing are not likely to cause changes sperm characteristics when exposure occurs in adulthood ", Inserm recalls, citing previous studies
The consequences of exposure during pregnancy are unknown
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