A clinical trial conducted by the University of Chicago in the early 1950's produced a cohort of infants exposed to the synthetic estrogen DES in utero, and a similar group of unexposed infants. Those individuals are now in their late thirties and constitute an important resource for epidemiologic studies of DES effects. Previous studies of this cohort have shown evidence of reproductive impairment of the daughters, but similar studies of the sons have not been done. The purposes of the present project are: 1. To collect prospective data on the menstrual function of the daughters. Menstruation is a function of the endocrine cycle of the female. DES is known to affect the structure of reproductive organs, but its effect on endocrine function has not been shown. A close look at menstrual patterns will be a first step in identifying possible hormonal dysfunction in humans secondary to DES exposure. 2. To collect data on the reproductive capacity of sons exposed to DES. This will be the first study to describe reproductive impairments (if any) among the sons of mothers who received DES during pregnancy. 3. To explore selected hypotheses of biological differences attributable to prenatal exposure to estrogen.

Project Start
1989-06-30
Project End
1992-10-31
Budget Start
1992-09-30
Budget End
1993-09-30
Support Year
Fiscal Year
1992
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Chicago
Department
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
225410919
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60637