Impact assessment of endocrine disruptors on sudden intrauterine and infant death syndromes

Background and Objectives: The endocrine disruptors (EDs) are able to interfere with the endocrine system, mimicking or antagonizing the hormonal activity. They can persist in the environment, due to their degradation resistance. The aim of our research has been to analyze the possible link between unexplained intrauterine and infant mortality and chronic exposure to EDs. Materials and Methods: We have investigated 16 cases of sudden intrauterine unexplained death syndrome (SIUDS) and 8 cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), collected over a 3-year period (2012-2014). Brain samples were submitted to chemical analysis of 25 EDs, consisting in a liquid-solid extraction procedure, followed by a purification step and by a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. Results: The analytical method to detect the presence of EDs in brain samples has been successfully applied to SIUDS and SIDS victims. At the level of the brainstem, the frequent association between the hypoplasia of the facial/parafacial complex and the hypoplasia of the raphe system has been ascertained. In particular, the hypo development of the parafacial nucleus, consisting of “pre-inspiratory” neurons with the main function of hierarchical modulation of breathing circuitry, appears an exclusive finding of unexplained stillbirths. Conclusions: The environmental EDs have been found able to cross the placental barrier, reaching also the brain nuclei assigned to the control of vital functions. This is consistent with literature data that report the presence of these selected pollutants in other human tissue. For this reason, environmental EDs should be searched during an autopsy to establish a possible correlation with unexplained intrauterine and infant deaths. KEY