Dibutyl-phthalate exposure from mesalamine medications and serum thyroid hormones in men.

Background: Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is an endocrine disruptor and used in some medication coatings, such as mesalamine for treatment inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Objectives: To determine whether high-DBP from some mesalamine medications alters thyroid function.

Methods: Seventy men with IBD, without thyroid disease or any radiation history participated in a crossover-crossback prospective study and provided up to 6 serum samples (2:baseline, 2:crossover, 2:crossback).

Environmental chemicals targeting thyroid.

Thyroid hormones (THs) are required for normal brain and somatic development and for the proper regulation of physiology in both children and adults. Thyroid function is controlled by the dynamic interrelationships between the hypothalamus, the pituitary and the thyroid. These dynamic relationships maintain circulating levels of THs within a narrow range under normal conditions.

Thyroid hormone, brain development, and the environment.

Thyroid hormone is essential for normal brain development. Therefore, it is a genuine concern that thyroid function can be altered by a very large number of chemicals routinely found in the environment and in samples of human and wildlife tissues. These chemicals range from natural to manufactured compounds.