Endocrine Response in Toxic Induction

Abstract

The present review traces the path of knowledge regarding the effects of exogenous agents on the endocrine system, the events which gave rise to the explosion of interest in this topic in the mid-1990's, and how it led to a fundamentally different paradigm in toxicity testing as well as a great deal of basic research on mechanisms of endocrine-mediated toxicity. Furthermore, in this review the history of testing for endocrine-mediated toxicity is covered, followed by coverage of key historical events in basic science, and then these two are brought together to discuss implications of the science on testing both now and tor the future.